How I Met Your Father
by LukeAndLorelai Brucas Fan
Summary: Get comfy kids, we're in for a long story... Rory Gilmore is telling her daughters how she met their father. Just upped the rating slightly, to be on the safe side, coz Rory and I keep forgetting that there is a young child in the room
1. Tell Me A Story

AN: Thanks to the AMAZING Kassandra27 for all her help with this. I've probably been driving her insane, (Sorry) but hopefully I'll be a little less annoying, no promises though.

Also, there will be clues about The Father, and you can all guess as much as you like, but I'm not going to confirm or deny for awhile.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. Except Charlotte and Emma.

* * *

As the grandfather clock across the room announced the commencement of the twenty-first hour of the day, Rory Gilmore looked up at her husband sitting in his favorite chair, silently reading a book to himself that he could practically recite from memory.

Their sixteen-year old daughter Charlotte, who everyone simply called Lo, entered the room carrying a bowl of popcorn and a copy of Jane Eyre, found somewhere around the house.

Rory had decided to keep her maiden name as it was the one she had used throughout her career and was the one that most people within her field recognized. Her two daughters however had both d been given their father's name.

Once the room had returned to its earlier quiet, Rory pulled the blanket tighter around herself and continued to read, until a voice at the door called to her.

"Mommy? Can you tell me a story?" Eight-year old Emma asked as she came out of her room and crawled into her mother's lap.

"A story? Daddy already read you a story. You should be sleeping."

"No. I want a new story. Daddy's stories are silly. There's always a princess and she always gets herself into trouble and can never get out of it, so she has to wait for the prince to show up and rescue her."

Across the room Emma's father rolled his eyes as he continued to read. Gilmore women were a lot of work, even at an early age.

"Honey, those are the stories that little girls your age are supposed to like."

"But they're boring! Tell me a story about you."

"About me?"

"You and Daddy. Tell me how you met him."

"Oh! Wait, wait. I want to hear this too!" Lo marked her place in her book and then joined her mother and sister on the couch, pulling at the blanket covering her mom's feet.

"You want a story about me and Daddy?" Rory asked again, trying to think of where to start.

"I can't wait to hear how you spin this one. You'd better be nice to me in these recollections." Warned the man across the room as he too put down his book.

Staring into the fireplace, at the dancing flames warming her home, Rory thought back over the years. The recent discovery of her third pregnancy and the births of her first two daughters. The weddings and funerals she had attended in recent times. The work she had put into her career. And the many obstacles that had stood between her and the man she loved, but they had overcome all that to be together in this house, together as a family.

"Ok. Here are the rules-"

"You don't have rules to tell a story," Protested Emma.

"Hey, it's my story and I'll tell it however I want to. And remember, Grandma has rules for movie night, so why can't I have rules for this?"

"Fine, you can have rules." Lo relented, wanting her to get on with the tale. "What are they?"

"Rule number one is for you," She explained, pointing to her husband. "I am telling this story so you cannot object about the way that I choose to portray things."

"Seriously?"

"Agree or you will seriously disappoint your daughters."

"Ok, fine. I won't object."

"Good and rule number two is... No, I don't have a second rule. That's it. So are we ready?"

All three nodded and Rory settled back, running her fingers through her youngest daughter's hair.

"This is the story of how I met your father..."

* * *

AN2: So nothing much happened there, but the fun will begin soon. Review!


	2. Welcome To Stars Hollow

Thanks for your reviews, crazynakedsexpart69, Curley-Q, JIBBSFOREVER, Jeremy Shane, JoPoGirlsKickAss, nuttzZ1. Thanks again to Kassandra27.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Fifteen-year old Rory Gilmore was in love. And this wasn't the first time either. Years ago, she had found a love introduced to her by her mother Lorelai. Now she had found the one that would finally unite her with her first love.

She had just concluded an interview at Chilton Prep Academy that, in her opinion went pretty well. The place was terrifying to look at, when she first arrived, with its gargoyles and clock tower, but by the time they were driving away, it looked like any regular old building in Hartford.

Stars Hollow High was a great public school. But public school wasn't good enough. Not if she wanted to get into Harvard. And she did want to get into Harvard.

Harvard was the dream. Harvard was her first love.

So now began the waiting game.

Lorelai was certain that Rory had nothing to worry about. She knew that her daughter was a genius, and when she allowed herself to open up to people, they grew to love her. This had become clear with everyone in Stars Hollow, including the grumpy diner owner who, didn't seem to have much patience for anyone, especially children. But, when it came to Rory, he would talk to her about whatever she felt like discussing, even when he wasn't sure what the topic was. She would take a seat at the counter and begin telling him about whatever book she was currently reading.

This man was like a father to Rory, as her own father was never really around.

As Lorelai and Rory entered Luke's diner and took a seat at one of the tables Luke came over with an order pad.

"Hi Luke."

"Hey Rory. Lorelai. Wasn't the big interview at that fancy school today?"

"Yeah, Rory just knocked their socks off. Those fancy-pants fuddy-duddy's just loved her. She's so getting in."

"Mom we don't know that for sure. They said that there was a good chance, but nothing's certain yet."

"Rory come on there is no way they wouldn't accept you. You're awesome!"

"Mom!"

"Isn't she awesome Luke? Don't you think she'll get in?"

"Yeah. Of course."

"Can we just order something?" Rory begged as the phone behind the counter began to ring.

"Hang on one second. I'll just get that and come back for your order."

"You'd better hurry or you might lose yourself some customers mister!" Lorelai yelled as he waved her away and picked up the phone.

"Luke's. Yeah, I'm working. What do you think I'm doing? Uh huh. Uh huh. Oh man, what did you do? Excuse me, are you serious? Just like that, huh? This is unbelievable! You won't ever change, will you?... Okay, fine. Do what you want, make the arrangements. Now I'm working, we'll finish this later." he hung up the phone and turned to see Lorelai leaning her elbows on the counter.

"Is everything okay?"

"Do you have a sister?"

"Um, no."

"Well, you're lucky then."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. I've gotta go out. Run some errands."

"What about our lunch?"

"Ceasar'll take care of it. Caesar I'm going out!" he called over his shoulder as he pulled on his jacket and walked out the door.

"What was that about?" Rory asked as Lorelai took her seat at their table.

"I have no idea."

* * *

Later that day Lorelai returned home to inform Rory that they were having a dinner party.

"What? Why?"

"Luke's nephew is coming to town."

"Luke has a nephew?"

"Yeah. Apparently his mom isn't too great with the whole parenting thing, so she decided Luke could do better."

"Luke? Parenting?"

"I know. That's what I thought. But he says that when it comes to family, you just do what you have to do and take care of them when they need it."

"Wow. He sounds like he's got everything sorted. Does he have some kind of secret parenting handbook or something?"

"I'm not sure, but if he does, I'll have to steal it." Lorelai mused, her kid wasn't difficult to handle, but still, there were times when a handbook would come in handy. "So I called Sookie, at the inn, she's going to cook and Jackson was there and he said he would throw in some free vegetable's, so I told him he should come as well, just so he can be sure that Sookie's treating them right."

"That was nice of you. But, won't it be weird to have Luke over for dinner? And a complete stranger?"

"Maybe... Probably. But Luke's our friend. Kind of. And I think he might need a little help with this."

"Ok. Well, in that case, I'm going to finish my homework."

"Why? You're done with that school."

"You have to stop saying that. You'll jinx it."

"Ok. Fine. Go do your homework and I won't say another word."

"You've never succeeded in keeping that promise. Why would you start now?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at her daughter and bit her lip to stop herself from making another comment.

* * *

Rory paused in her story to take a sip of her decaf coffee. "So was that-"

"I said no interruptions." she replied, cutting of Emma's question.

"No you didn't." replied her husband.

"I- Ok. Fine I didn't. But I'm saying it now. No interruptions. Now back to my story. He'd just arrived in town and they came over to our house for dinner..."

* * *

Pre-dinner mingling was awkward. At first glance, Jess appeared to be very standoffish. When he and Luke had arrived there had been voices all through the house, but she recognised all of those. She never heard Jess say a word until her mom brought him to her room.

She hadn't exactly known what to expect. When he stood in her doorway, she'd looked up and for just a second she'd fallen into the deep, dark pools of his chocolate brown eyes.

Then he'd looked away, breaking the connection and she took a few moments to study the rest of him while he looked around.

He was average height, about the same as her, she guessed, just from looking, maybe a fraction taller. His hair was slightly messy, but in a nice way. The kind of mess that requires half an hour of deep concentration to achieve. And he wore a leather jacket, that, just by looking at it, Rory knew was comfortable.

It looked good on him.

While Sookie obsessed about the food and Jackson was overly excited about the lemon's he had provided, Jess stood silently in Rory's room. When the adults moved into the living room, he suggested they bail through Rory's window.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it's Tuesday night in Stars Hollow. There's nowhere to bail to. The 24-hour mini-mart just closed twenty minutes ago."

"So we'll walk around or sit on a bench and stare at our shoes." he replied, darkly glancing at the kitchen where the sounds of the adults floated through.

"Look, Sookie just made a ton of really great food, and I'm starving and though it may not seem like it right at this moment, it's gonna be fun. Trust me." Rory explained, hoping to lighten his mood.

"I don't even know you."

* * *

"He had a point there."

"Rule number two Dad!" Lo yelled, as Emma shushed him.

"I am very trustworthy. Is this not a trustworthy face?" she asked, but after a moment continued. "It doesn't matter what you think right now, because this is my story."

"Our story."

"Well I'm telling it, aren't I? It's mine. So shhh." He made a show of locking his lips and throwing the key over the back of his chair, causing Rory to smile. "So, then we headed back to the kitchen, got a couple of drinks and moved to the living room and all enjoyed a very uncomfortable dinner."

* * *

Dinner was cut short though as Jess claimed that he wasn't hungry, and was going for a walk, after pushing his food around for fifteen minutes.

"But you still don't know where anything is." Luke protested.

"Doesn't matter. I figure if I take three right turns I'll end up back where I started."

"I could go with you. If, I mean, if you want." Rory suggested. Suddenly very shy as five pairs of eyes landed on her.

"There you go, my very own tour guide. Happy now?" Jess asked his uncle, not waiting for an answer, as he grabbed his coat and headed for the door, Rory moved her plate to the coffee table and scrambled to follow him.

"So, what did you want to see?" Rory asked as they walked out onto the front lawn.

"Don't care. Somewhere quiet."

"Oh. I know." she grabbed his hand and began pulling him along behind her, excited to show him somewhere she enjoyed going.

When they reached the bridge, Jess stood looking around while Rory made herself comfortable.

Her mom didn't know she came out here late at night.

She would wait until the whole town was asleep and then creep out of the house, just to come and sit alone on an old bridge that, for as long as she could remember was falling apart.

Most nights it was nice. Although, there was the odd occasion Kirk would get his night terrors and run in her direction. The first couple of times it happened, she'd been petrified, but then she sort of knew when to anticipate it. It turned out, that even in his sleep, Kirk liked to stick to his routines.

As Jess finally made up his mind to join her, Rory looked around at the dark, still water, the motionless trees that almost appeared to be standing at attention. And the thousands of stars winking down at them.

"You really think this was a good idea?" Jess finally spoke, and Rory jumped a little. She'd almost forgotten he was there.

"What do you mean?"

"Coming out to a deserted lake with someone you don't know. No one can hear you scream." Jess lay back and stared directly up at the sky. Rory couldn't figure out why he wouldn't look at her.

"Well, actually, I was thinking that you're Luke's nephew, so you're probably not too dangerous. Plus four people could verify that we left the house together, so if I do suddenly go missing, at least they'll have their number one suspect."

"Interesting theory."

She looked over at him, studying his features in the half light, provided by the moon, trying to gauge how serious he was. Did she really have something to worry about?

"So you like to read?" she finally asked, deciding that if she could get him talking, everything would be fine.

"I guess."

"Who are some of your favourite authors?"

"Relax."

"What?"

"Calm down. I'm not going to kill you. You have nothing to worry about."

"I know that. I'm fine."

"No. You're freaking out. And apparently, when you freak out, you talk. A lot."

"Actually, this is kind of a family trait. My mother and I both talk very fast, and quite often. We also drink heaps of coffee. Luke finds us very annoying."

"You're doing it again." Jess commented as he sat up and looked at Rory. "Just breathe."

Rory did as she was told.

She'd been hoping he would look at her again, but suddenly she couldn't take it. He was looking at her, only her and his gaze was just a little too intense.

She pulled her legs up from where they had been dangling over the side of the bridge. "I think I should be heading back. Unless you need-"

"I'll find my way to the diner. Don't worry."

"Ok. I guess I'll see you around."

"Probably,"

"Night Jess."

As she walked away, burying her hands deep within her pockets, Rory heard Jess draw in a shaky breathe. A part of her wanted to turn around. Convince him to talk, to get whatever was bothering him off his chest.

But as much as she wanted that, she knew it was too soon.

He'd been right earlier, he didn't know her, and had no reason to trust her.

Obviously Jess had things he needed to sort out with himself before he would open up to a stranger.

Rory kept walking, having decided to give him some space.

When he wanted to talk, she would be there, and she was going to make that clear in a way that didn't annoy him.

She hoped.


	3. Chilton Prep

**AN: Sorry this took so long. I was having a lot of trouble with this chapter. As always thanks got to Kasandra27 she helped me a lot here.**

**Thanks for your reviews: ****bridgeteebeethequeen****, ****Curley-Q****, e13, ****HippieWinterSweet****, ****Ghostwriter****, ****Jeremy Shane****, ****Juzzy88****, ****nuttzZ1****, ****Texas' Sweetheart**** and ****Vera Cobb**

**Disclaimer: See chapter 1**

* * *

Two weeks after meeting Jess, 'The Letter' arrived. Rory and Lorelai danced around the house, taking turns waving the Chilton acceptance letter above their heads. They were both overly excited, with no caffeine involved… well not yet anyway.

"You did it! You did it!"

"I got in!"

"I knew you would, you're such an amazing kid! I'm so proud of you. We should go celebrate."

"Luke's?"

"Honey, you just got into this awesome school that is going to get you right into Harvard and you want to celebrate at Luke's?"

"Well where do you want to go?"

"Eh, Luke's it is."

* * *

When Rory took Jess to the bridge his first night in town, she tried discussing books with him, but it was then that she realized that he wasn't big on words. He did however manage to assure her that he didn't have any desire to kill her at that particular moment. Aside from books Rory tried to tell him about her interview with Chilton Prep, deep down she wanted him to be proud of her, but she got too nervous and simply made up an excuse, and headed for the safety of her home.

So now she was planning on telling him that she got in, even though she knew that he wasn't responsive as others, there was no one else that she wanted to share this news with first other than him. She wanted him to know and once again she wanted him to be proud of her, which she knew was pretty stupid because Jess didn't know anything about her, and she didn't even know anything about him either.

They arrived at the diner all too suddenly, Rory thought as she followed her mother inside, she was suddenly nervous to see Jess' reaction. As soon as Lorelai got through the door she announced to everyone inside that her genius kid had done what they all knew that she would, she had gotten into Chilton, the genius school.

"She got into Chilton!" Lorelai announced proudly and everyone began to cheer and clap. Even a few people who had never even met the Gilmore's before got caught up in the excitement radiating off the crazed woman jumping up and down.

Rory tentatively looked around her mother trying to find Jess, trying to gauge his reaction to the news. Jess had only been at school a couple of days, and Rory had tried to make the transition from his school in New York to Stars Hollow High as easy as possible. She tried introducing him to new people, showed him the people that he could steer clear of, but this was Stars Hollow after all, Jess was the most dangerous one living here… well except for Kirk that is.

Jess had had other ideas though. Whenever Rory approached him with people, he ignored them. He didn't have room in his life for insignificant people, he only ever paid attention to the important ones. There was no reason getting close to anyone, as soon as he turned eighteen he was out of there, he'd never see them again, except for maybe Rory… she was different from the others.

"So, no more Stars Hollow High then?" Jess commented as Rory came over to the counter and took a seat.

"No. No more Stars Hollow High."

"Lucky you." Jess answered simply as he walked away to wipe down some tables, Rory frowned_. When was he going to stop being so cold towards everyone?_

* * *

"After I got the acceptance letter mom started to freak out about money." Rory explained as she watched Emma's eyelids grow heavy. "We couldn't afford to pay for Chilton on our own, so she had to go to her parents and ask them for a loan. That was how the Friday night dinners began."

Emma went limp in her mother's arms and Rory raised her eyes to her husband.

"I think it's time for me and Emma to go to bed." He said knowingly as he stood up, scooped the small child out of Rory's arms, and carried her out of the room.

Rory watched them leave and then began to detail her first day at Chilton for her older daughter.

"Mom woke up late and made a very interesting impression on the headmaster."

"I love the Daisy Duke photo." Lo laughed as Rory looked towards the mantelpiece where there was a photo of her mother dressed in a pink tie-dyed shirt, denim shorts and cowboy boots.

After the humiliation of the day had passed, a friend of Rory's begged Lorelai to put on the outfit one more time, only to whip out a camera and immortalize it for all to see. Rory had them make several copies and Lorelai continued to cringe every time she saw it.

"So we were late, and the rest of the day just got worse by every minute that passed. Although I have a feeling that even if we'd been on time – and dressed appropriately - it still would have sucked."

* * *

Rory was so nervous on her first day, being late had thrown her off more than she'd like to admit. She spent the day trying to ignore all the people staring at her, well that was until a cute blonde boy with piercing blue eyes entered the room and kept his eyes locked on her for the duration of the class. Rory could feel his gaze on her, she even turned around a couple of times during class and looked into his eyes willing to figure out his intentions, but she couldn't.

After class Rory was trying to figure out which of her classmates would be the most likely to lend her their notes. Sure they were all staring at her, but she doubted that any of them would actually willingly lend their notes to her. She was about to give up all hope when Mr. Confidence called out to her.

They began talking, a normal conversation, like they had just met in the school hallway and were getting to know each other, but there was a point during the conversation where his voice became deeper and she could've sworn that it had a seductive edge to it. The conversation shifted from getting to know each other, to subtle flirting. Rory was uncomfortable when she first noticed it, but there was just something about him.

The conversation progressed and Rory made no attempt to reprimand him for his blatant flirting, or even nervously stumble out some words that denied her attraction to him. Then his voice became even more seductive, Rory didn't think that it was even possible, but her knees felt weak at the sound of it. He slowly moved closer to her and Rory instinctively backed up, weak knees and all. He wasn't discouraged and kept stepping towards her, until she was trapped between him and the lockers.

She tried in vain to explain to him that she preferred to study alone, but he wasn't letting up. Rory blushed at his closeness and this spurred him on further, he pressed his body gently into hers, not wanting to scare her off now. Rory started to lean into him, she wanted more, no she needed more. Never had a guy paid her any attention like this before. It was new, it was so surreal… and it was gone as quickly as it came.

He gave her a dazzling smile. "Bye, Mary." He called out as he sauntered away, leaving Rory very confused and truthfully wanting more. '_Always keep them wanting more_' that saying ran through Rory's mind at that exact moment, and she knew that there was truth to that fact. He was playing with her, she realized that, but it didn't change anything… she still wanted more.

* * *

She couldn't stop thinking about the beautiful blonde boy from Chilton, but she kept her mind occupied, tried to keep it from wandering where it shouldn't. She spent weeks trying to catch up on her workload, trying to convince herself that he was just another sex-crazed teenage boy and wasn't worth ruining everything that she had spent her whole life working towards. No, she wouldn't let one boy ruin everything.

And then there was Paris Gellar, the one girl who seemed to have a personal vendetta against Rory, but she didn't even know the girl to warrant that type of behavior. Sure the two girls hadn't gotten off to the best start. Rory did accidentally destroy Paris' history project just moments before it was due to be handed in, but that could hardly be considered her fault, blame the stupid damn stuck locker, not Rory. Either way Paris seemed to make it her sole mission in life to destroy Rory Gilmore at Chilton, she wanted nothing more than to prove that she was better than the new 'Dixie chick.'

And through all of it, Tristan, the boy Rory had met outside Mr. Remmy's class, continued to occupy her thoughts. As much as she willed those thoughts to stay at bay, they didn't seem to listen, they kept on resurfacing. Rory wasn't complaining in the slightest though, it wasn't like he was the worst person to imagine. But she didn't quite understand it, why was he pursuing her, he was good looking and she was… not, or so she believed. But what she had observed in her short time at her new school was that he was, to put it bluntly, totally up himself. She couldn't stand him, but she couldn't get his gorgeous smile off her mind either.

Of course in her spare time she was still trying to work on Jess. She liked him when she first met him, and felt that if he would just let down his guard a little then he would start to enjoy himself more in his new home. Or at the very least, start to tolerate it. And maybe if he could enjoy his new home then maybe he could enjoy other things too. However she wasn't getting her hopes up, but she also wasn't going to give up. He deserved someone in his life that would give him a chance, and she wanted nothing more than to be that someone.

* * *

Rory was wandering around the town aimlessly, trying to clear her mind. She looked at the notice board in the town square, she had been so wrapped up in schoolwork, Jess, and trying to not think of Tristan that she needed to catch up on what was going on in the town, but there was nothing new, just as she expected. She turned away and almost smacked right into someone's chest.

"God! You're like Ruth Gordon just standing there with a tannis root. Make a noise." she told the tall boy standing a few mere inches away from her.

"Rosemary's Baby."

"Yeah." Rory replied, happily. She loved when people got her obscure references.

"Well, that's a great movie. You've got good taste."

"What are you doing standing so close to people like that?" she demanded, taking a step back to put some space between them.

"Sorry. I was just trying to see if there were any jobs going." He explained as Rory tipped her head back to look at him. He was tall, maybe even as tall as Luke, but Luke was a fully grown man, and this guy was still a boy. "I'm new in town. My family just moved here from Chicago. I'm Dean."

"Hi. Rory. Is me. My name's Rory." she stumbled over her words and mentally slapped herself. Why was she acting like this?

"Nice name." His hazel eyes sparkled a little and she suspected that he was trying not to laugh. She knew she was being beyond stupid right now, she couldn't even string a few simple words together… he should laugh at her.

"Thanks." She said nervously, she was getting really freaked out._ Why were boys paying such close attention to her all of a sudden?_ "You should check with Miss Patty." She blurted out, causing Dean to blink.

"Who?"

"Miss Patty. She teaches dance. She knows everything that goes on in town. She'll know if someone's looking. Even if it's not up here yet."

"Oh, great. Uh, thanks. Hey, what are you doing now?"

"I was going to meet my friend Lane... Ten minutes ago, actually."

"Oh. Well, I was hoping you could show me where this Miss Patty's place is."

"I'd love to, but like I said, I'm running late. Um, it's just there, see?" she pointed behind him and Dean smiled sheepishly as he caught sight of Miss Patty's School of Dance

"Right. Not too hard to find."

"No. Just look for the woman whose energy fills all the available space, you can't miss Patty. Good luck with the job hunt, I'm sure I'll see you later."

"Bye Rory!" he called out as she walked away. All she thought as she dropped into a seat opposite Lane was that at least he knew her name.

* * *

"This is really hard mom. You've met too many guys!"

"What do you mean?" Rory asked, smiling innocently at her daughter.

"Well there's the guy at the bridge, Bible boy, and Frankenstein. How am I supposed to know which one it is?" Rory laughed as she watched her daughter, sitting on the edge of her seat, desperately trying to piece together the snippets of information she'd been given in order to pinpoint the exact moment in which her parents had met.

"You're not supposed to know. Not yet anyway."

"Can you at least tell me if it's one of these three?" Lo looked just like Rory had at sixteen, all except for one thing. She had her mother's hair and the same body shape, similar facial features, but the beautiful sparkling blue 'Lorelai' eyes had skipped both her and her sister. It seemed that in the Gilmore family, without the name, you didn't get the eyes. Instead they both had their father's eyes. That was Rory's favorite thing about her girls. She could look into their eyes and instantly see the man that she loved reflected back.

"No."

"No it's not one of them or-"

"No. I can't tell you. But tomorrow, when you're sister's up, I'll tell you about the next boy I met." Lo rolled her eyes as Rory laughed.

"Another one? God what is this? How many boyfriends' have you had?"

"Um, boyfriends? One. Aside from your dad that is."

"But that's like four guys. Why did you only date two?"

"You'll just have to wait until the morning. Actually the next one in the story is Uncle Finn."

"Uncle Finn? Tell me you didn't date him? Coz if he was one of your boyfriends I-"

"All will be revealed in time. But how about we keep that last bit to ourselves?"

"Your first day at Chilton?"

"Yeah. I thought you could handle it, but Em's a little young for it."

"Got it." Lo watched her mother for a moment "So does this mean that I can get some boy I don't even know to come onto me in the school hallway?" Lo joked.

Rory shook her head. "You're going to bed."

"But-"

"No. No 'but's'. I am exhausted. Rehashing my romantic history to entertain my kids is very draining. Plus, your baby brother has been bouncing on my bladder for the last twenty minutes and you have school tomorrow, so get ready for bed and we'll continue this after school. Got it?"

"Ok, fine." they both stood up and headed towards their respective bathrooms to prepare for bed.

* * *

**AN2: Reveiw**


	4. Uncles & Dances

**AN: Sorry about the wait. I've got a cold and feel like crap pretty much all day, but I'm ok at the moment so I thought it was about time to give you 'Uncle Finn'. Enjoy**

**Thanks for your reveiws: astragail, Braceface2013, Curley-Q, e13, Ghostwriter, Heloise, Jeremy Shane, JoPoGirlsKickAss, Juzzy88, nuttzZ1, TTexas' Sweetheart**

**Disclaimr: See Ch 1**

* * *

"When I first started at Chilton, there was more than one boy annoying me at the school." Rory explained the next day to Lo as she made herself comfortable. Emma was out in the back yard, playing with a friend. Rory figured that she'd just tell Emma snippets at bed time, at least for a while to give her a break from all the princess stories. Lo on the other hand was still very much interested.

"He may be great with you girls, and I love him to death now, but when I first met your uncle Finn he drove me mad. He was away on vacation my first month, so when I arrived a few weeks after I started there, he and Bible boy were surrounded by a group of girls, all vying for their attention."

* * *

It didn't seem to matter which one they got to pay attention to them. In Rory's opinion, the gaggle of girls surrounding Tristan and his friend wanted nothing more than for one of them to notice them, regardless of which one it was.

As she walked by, Tristan nudged his friend and the two of them broke away from their audience to fall into step on either side of Rory.

"How was your weekend Mary?"

"It was fine. But my name's not Mary. I told you it's-"

"Have you met Finn yet? He's been in London for a few weeks." Tristan replied, apparently not interested in what she had to say.

'_That's not surprising_.' she thought.

"London? Really?" she replied, disinterestedly. Rory was a nice person. She prided her self on being polite to everyone, but Tristan was grating her nerves.

She had absolutely no desire to get to know any of his friends.

"Yes Love, London." replied the brunette in an accented voice. "Phineas Rothschild, Finn to anyone other than my parents. My father wanted to show me a few aspects of the family business so he yanked me out of school for the last month and dragged me along to a string of meetings. Not that I'm complaining. He did hire me an awfully attentive tutor."

Rory rolled her eyes as the boys laughed to themselves. Did he really have to tell her these things? She'd just met this boy and he was already divulging personal information about his sex life. At least that's what she thought he was referring to, but she couldn't be entirely sure.

"Listen, uh-"

"Finn."

"Finn, right, it was nice to meet you. But I have to get to the library. I have some studying I need to get done before class."

"Would you like my tutor's number, Kitten? I'm sure she'd be happy to help you. Mate's rates of course."

"No. That won't be necessary. I have to get going." she hugged her books to her chest, lowered her head and walked away from the two boys. She could hear them whispering to one another as she rounded the corner, but she told herself it had nothing to do with her.

* * *

Rory's sixteenth birthday was fast approaching at that point and for the first time she could remember, her mom and grandma were getting along.

But then she saw the birthday invitations.

Finn and Tristan's lockers were right next to one another – Rory suspected that you could have just about anything if you were born to the right parents - and as she made her way down the hall, she noticed them watching her. Only this time it was different to the way they typically looked at her.

They seemed to be studying her a lot more closely than usual.

She watched them out of the corner of her eye as she walked past, but after a moment she changed her mind and turned back.

"What?" she demanded, coming to stand in front of the two boys.

"Happy birthday Love." Finn replied with a big grin.

"It's not my birthday."

"No. But it will be," Tristan explained. "On October… twenty-fourth-"

Rory snatched the piece of paper Tristan was reading from out of his hand and skimmed the words.

An invitation.

To her birthday party.

At her grandparents house.

Her grandmother had said she wanted to throw a little party. But if Finn and Tristan were invited, then there would probably be a few more people from the school whose attendance had also been requested.

This was unbelievable.

Crumpling the paper into a ball, Rory walked away from the two. Tristan called out to her, but she kept going.

"This sucks." she muttered, stalking off to her homeroom.

* * *

"Great Grandma really did that?" Lo asked, her eyes wide.

"Yeah, but I couldn't say anything to mom at the time though, because she was happy. So I just went along with it. The party was awful."

"What happened?"

"Well, this was back when Aunt Paris and I still weren't friends. She didn't want to be there, but her mother had forced her. My grandpa was drunk and the boys from my school where total-"

"Asses?"

"Charlotte!"

"Well, they were, weren't they?" Lo had met a few guys like the ones her mother was describing. She had a feeling that most of their involvement in the story would be very short.

Rory thought for a moment. "Yeah. Pretty much."

* * *

Arriving at the elder Gilmore residence, Rory and Lorelai entered to see a large group of people, that for the most part they didn't know.

"Wow. Mom went all out for this one. She must really like you." Lorelai commented as Rory caught sight of Paris Gellar, checking her watch.

"Oh no."

"What's wrong?"

"Um, nothing. Let's find Grandma." In the back of her mind Rory wanted to find her grandmother and yell at her. How could she do this without asking? It was so insensitive.

"Really? Now? You don't think we should find the bar first?"

"Well, if you want to get arrested..."

"Ok, fine. We'll look for Mom."

"Rory! Lorelai! You're here."

"Of course Mom. The birthday girl can't miss her own party."

"That's true. What are you wearing?" Emily demanded, as her disapproving eye swept over the two dresses she had bought the other day. Lorelai had altered them so that they suited hers and Rory's tastes better.

Rory's was a dark green, almost olive. It reached her knee's, and had spaghetti straps, hidden under a gauzy bolero. Lorelai's dress was a dark blue. That was her favourite part. The colour brought out her eyes, but other than that, she had been completely against her mother's choice in apparel.

"These are the dresses you bought us mom. Remember?" Lorelai asked, indicating with her hand for Rory to spin for her grandma. "I just made a few adjustments."

"Fine. Come, come, I want to introduce you to some friends of ours." Emily replied, it was obvious she didn't want to argue about the dresses right then. But both Lorelai and Rory knew she wasn't happy.

"You get started with that Mom, and I'll just grab a drink."

"Lorelai-"

"No, no, don't worry. I'll catch up. Go on, lot's of people to meet."

"Well, alright. Rory follow me please." Emily led Rory around the room introducing her to a whole lot of people, all of whom she had forgotten by the time they reached a group of kids from her school. "Here, you spend some time with your friends, Rory. I'm going to check some things in the kitchen."

"Oh. Ok." As Emily walked away, Rory stood at the door staring at the kids, staring back at her.

"Who's that?" asked one of the boys.

"I think it's her party," replied another.

"Oh."

Then from the back of the room, came Tristan DuGrey, the boy Rory had been thinking of constantly, accompanied by his friend Finn.

"Happy birthday Mary."

"Must you call me that?" Rory asked, through gritted teeth, shooting a glare at him as Finn grinned. Rory was getting so infuriated with that grin of his. He just never stopped smirking.

"Ignore him Love. He just doesn't know how to act in the proper social fashions when it comes to the girl he loves." Finn explained. Her heart almost skipped a beat. Then she realised that Finn was making fun of her, or, at the very least, making a joke. He may not have realised that what he said made such an impact on her.

"Uh huh."

"Smashing party, Rory."

"You should be saying that to my grandmother. I had nothing to do with this."

"Well, if I find a ravishing older version of you, I'll be sure to pass along my compliments." He replied looking around the room in search of the 'ravishing' woman. But there were no older woman in that room, only student's from Chilton.

"So, do we get a birthday kiss?" Tristan asked with a smirk firmly in place.

'_God these two…_!' Rory thought.

"It's my birthday."

"So, we give you a birthday kiss?" both boys took a step closer to her and Rory rolled her eyes, turning and walking away without another comment. She knew that this was all a game to them and she definitely did not want to play.

In her attempt to get out of the room and find her mom, she bumped into Paris who just glared at her and walked away to find a working clock as her watch had stopped.

By the end of the evening, Rory had been handed a whole lot of cheques from people she'd never met, and had argued with her grandmother over the fact that it wasn't really her party, even though it was her birthday.

Everything combined had put a serious damper on their night, and Lorelai suggested that they go home.

* * *

"Wow." Lo blinked a few times as the latest instalment of her mother's story came to an end. "That… sucked."

"It really did. But the next night was better. Mom had planned another party for me, that was more our style. Everyone came over and there was a cake with my face on it, presents and we had a lot of fun."

"Well that's good. I'm glad."

"Grandma didn't mean anything by the party she threw. " Rory explained. "It's just that she wanted to do something she thought I would enjoy, but she didn't know me very well, so she just did what she would normally do when planning a party. It took us some time, but we did eventually have a really good relationship."

"I wish that I remembered her. From all the stories I've heard from you and grandma, she sounded…" Lo paused, searching for the correct word. "I wanna say cool, but…"

"I know what you mean. Emily Gilmore was an amazing woman." Rory replied.

Years ago when Richard had angina and scared the family into thinking he would die, Emily had demanded that she be the one who got to go first. She had told her husband that she couldn't bury him and that was that.

She had gotten her wish just after Charlotte's second birthday.

There were still times when Rory wanted to call her, let her know things about the girls, and to make plans, but then… she would remember.

Richard had followed his wife shortly before Emma was born. Rory believed he had been trying to hold on to meet his great-granddaughter, but the need to be with Emily had been too great and he just slipped away late one night to join her once again.

"Mom? Are you ok?" Lo asked as Rory wiped away a tear.

"Yeah," She nodded and tried to smile. "I just miss them sometimes. But I'm fine. Where was I?"

"Grandma just threw you a great sweet sixteen birthday party."

"Right, next up was the winter dance."

"Oh! Did you go with dad?"

"You just can't wait for me to tell the story, can you? Do you want me to just explain the part where we met and forget the rest?"

"No. I'm sorry I'll be good."

"Ok, so grandma made me go…"

* * *

Rory didn't want to go to the dance. At least that was what she told her mom after she'd been shanghaied at Friday night dinner. The truth was that she just didn't have a date and she couldn't really think of anyone she could ask that would actually say yes. She knew a couple of boys, but not well and she wasn't game enough to ask almost-strangers to accompany her to a Chilton event.

Plus she couldn't even fathom what it would be like to go alone.

So while she'd been walking by the ticket table trying not to imagine the fun she would miss by not going Rory hadn't noticed Tristan take his two tickets and fall into step beside her.

"How about I pick you up at seven. We can drive over here and get to know each other better. What do you say Mary? You up for it?"

"You can't be this stupid."

"Why whatever do you mean?"

"I'm not going to the dance with you for many reasons."

"Name one."

"You don't even know my name!"

"I do too."

"Then what is it?"

"Go out with me and I'll tell you."

"That's ridiculous.

"Look the dance is a week away. Let's just say you'll go with me and you can change your mind as many times as you like between now and then. I'll even let you insult me as often as you like."

"Between now and then or on the night?" Rory asked, trying to hide a grin. That did sound awfully tempting.

"Both, whatever you want. Just say you'll go?"

He was annoying. He'd been bugging her since her first day and he couldn't even be bothered to call her by her own name, but she really wanted to go to that dance, and she didn't really see any other alternative.

"On one condition,"

"Name it."

"You try any funny stuff and I'm calling a cab. Your treat."

"Sounds good to me. I'll see you later… Mary" he walked away with a smirk and Rory wanted to smack him. And herself. What had she just agreed to?"

* * *

"I changed my mind about the dance repeatedly. But I made it through the week and I got back to the mindset of 'I want to go and I don't care if it has to be him that takes me'. He was the perfect gentleman, coming to the door, introducing himself to mom and Grandma, opening the car door for me. Grandma took a whole bunch of photos, all of which I'll show you in second. I knew that he was just playing a game. So I turned to him and I said 'I'm only doing this to show you what a horrible idea it is so you'll stop pestering me and move onto your next victim.'" Lo laughed at that and Rory continued.

"He said that was fine, he didn't care what my motivation was, because he was going to change my mind by the end of the night anyway. We drove – very uncomfortably in my case – to Hartford. The evening was as good as it could have gotten, he didn't make it too horrible. He even kissed me goodnight when he dropped me home. That was my first date - and my first ever kiss - with your uncle Tristan."

"Uncle Tristan? What? You're supposed to be talking about dad."

"I know that, but in order to tell you the full story of your dad and me, I need to tell you this as well. You still want the full story don't you?' Rory asked, pulling a shoebox out from under the couch.

"Yes, ok. Even if it scars me for life, go ahead. Tell me the full story,"

"Ok, good. I will as soon as I get back. I need to pee. Again!" Rory got up and made her way to the bathroom, all the memories she was about to share, running through her mind. "Look through those pictures. We have a lot of ammunition in this house to embarrass that man." She called out as her daughter laughed.

* * *

**AN2: Reveiw!**


	5. Friends?

**Thanks for your reveiws: ****Alenor****, ****Curley-Q****, ****Jeremy Shane****, ****JoPoGirlsKickAss****, ****Juzzy88****, ****Miguel51****, ****nuttzZ1****, ****SarahB0B****, ****Storygirl21****, ****Texas' Sweetheart****.**

**Thanks to Kassandra27 for hwer help.**

**Disclaimer: Ch 1.**

* * *

"Mommy!" Emma yelled from her bed once she had rearranged her pillows and teddy bears.

"Yes angel?" Rory asked, poking her head in the door.

"Don't let daddy tell me his silly stories tonight. Can you finish yours?"

"I can keep going but it's going to be a while before I'm finished," she explained tucking the little girl in. "How about I get your sister to catch you up on what you missed, whilst I make us all hot chocolates?"

"But I already brushed my teeth. See?" she smiled and showed her clean teeth, poking her tongue through the space where one of her teeth had fallen out recently.

"I won't tell daddy if you don't." Rory whispered, holding out her pinkie finger. Emma shook with her mom as Lo passed by on her way from the bathroom.

"Hey honey, can you tell your sister where we're up to in the story? I've got one thing I need to do first."

"Sure. So just Chilton, your birthday and your date with-"

"Daddy?"

"No. Not daddy," Lo replied with a small smile. "But it's still good."

"Yeah, all of that but remember what I said."

"I know, the G rated version." Rory nodded and left the room as she heard Lo start to describe the events at Chilton.

When she had the three drinks made Rory looked at them quizzically. _How was she supposed to carry them?_

Finding a small tray in a cupboard, she smiled. "Perfect."

Arriving back in Emma's room she found her two daughters curled up together and Emma's eyes wide.

"Uncle Tristan?" she demanded turning to her father who sat in an over-stuffed armchair.

"I'm afraid so. You ready for Cinderella now?"

"No."

"That's right baby, you tell him. She wants us, so you just... go for a walk or something."

"I'm good right here. You go ahead, tell your story."

"Ok, fine. Here are your drinks girls." Rory passed out the beverages and squeezed in next to her daughters. "So a couple of weeks after the dance we had to go to my grandparents for Christmas dinner. Grandpa got sick," Rory explained to Emma as Lo looked at her dad who mouthed 'angina' "We took him to the doctor and they made him all better, but there were still a few things he had to keep an eye on so it wouldn't happen again. But the rest of our Christmas went off pretty well."

"Was great grandpa really ok?" Em asked. She didn't remember the man and wasn't sure she should believe what was being said, seeing as he wasn't around now to corroborate the story.

"He was, I promise."

"Around that time," added their dad. "Grandma Lorelai was dating your mom's teacher. It totally freaked her out. Even now she doesn't like to think about it."

"Your teacher?" Lo asked horrified, afraid to even try imagining how that would feel.

"Yeah. They got engaged too, but we all know how that worked out." They all smiled. Lorelai married the right man in the end.

In the living room, the phone rang and Rory smiled sweetly at her husband.

"Fine, I'll get it. But I don't want to miss any good bits."

"You won't. We still have some Tristan time to get through."

They could hear him talking on the phone for a few moments before he returned. "It's for you. Paris."

"Hey Paris, what's up?" Rory asked taking the phone and accepting a kiss.

"I'm bored. What are you doing?" all three could hear both ends of the conversation.

"Telling the girls how their dad and I met."

"Well why don't you just say he-"

"Shh! They want the whole story and I'm having lots of fun telling it. So how can I help with your boredom?"

"You probably can't since you're so engrossed in story time I just wanted to burden someone else with my problems. Maybe I'll call your mom."

"That's a great idea. Lorelai just loves your phone calls."

"Bye."

Rory hung up and sighed with relief. "She almost told you! Good thing I stopped her. Anyway, so we got through Christmas, and when I got back to school after winter break Tristan was being very annoying. He figured that since I'd agreed to go out with him once I would do it again."

"And he was right."

"Dad!" The girls yelled in unison as Rory shot him a look.

* * *

Rory spent the first three days of the new term trying to avoid Tristan. She'd had a lot of fun with him at the dance, but there was something telling her not to let it happen again.

He wasn't serious and she didn't want to be involved in his silly little games.

It seemed that he had other ideas though.

Wednesday afternoon she raced out to catch her bus and with a bit of luck elude Tristan. She was astounded to find him sitting on her bus, evidently waiting for her.

Before she could sneak back off the bus or slip unnoticed into a vacant seat, he stood up and called her over to him.

With a resigned sigh, she made her way up the aisle and sat beside him, waiting for him to explain himself.

"You're avoiding me," he stated, slinging an arm around the back of her seat.

"And yet you found me."

"Well I would have just called you, but I didn't have your number and I thought ringing your grandmother would probably open up a can of worms."

"How so?"

"The grandson of one high profile family attempting to get in touch with the granddaughter of two high profile families after they've already gone out once before? She'd have wedding invites sent out by Monday."

"How do you know I'm from two-"

"Come on, your parents are pretty much the 'ghost story' that every Hartford elite parent tells their kids to avoid becoming a grandparent too early." Rory rolled her eyes at that, of course everyone else benefited from her life story. "But the point is this; I had a really good time with you at the dance and I think we should do it again."

"That's not a good idea."

"Why not?" Rory glanced out the window. Was this trip taking longer than usual? "You were having a good time too."

"I just don't think I should be dating anyone right now." _Especially you._

"I'm not asking for some big commitment."

"Well obviously,"

"All I want," Tristan continued, pretending her hadn't heard her insult him, "is another chance to prove how much fun we can have together. What do you say? Next Friday night."

"I can't Friday. I have plans."

"You have plans for a week and a half from now?"

"Every Friday actually."

"I didn't think the Gilmore's were Jewish."

"We're not. My mom and I have dinner with the grandparents every Friday. Can't get out of it."

"Ok, fine. What about Saturday? You got plans with the Pope?"

"Not next week, no."

"So can I take that as a yes?" Rory chewed her lip, considering. "I have never had to work this hard for a date. Do you realise that this is the first time I've ever been on one of these things?" he asked, gesturing around him at the bus.

"Well then next weekend will be even more enjoyable for you won't it?"

"That's a yes? Did anyone else hear that as a yes?" he asked as several people looked at him curiously.

"This is my stop. I hope you enjoyed your first trip courtesy of the city council." Rory added, standing up.

"Absolutely. I'll pick you up at your place 6.30 next Saturday."

"No." Rory replied turning back and Tristan's face fell slightly. "In there." she pointed across the street.

"The hardware store?"

"Yeah. I'll meet you at the hardware store." she replied walking towards the door.

* * *

"What hardware store?" Asked Lo. She knew Stars Hollow like the back of her hand and from what she was picturing there was no hardware store across the street from the bus stop.

"Well, he didn't realise that that sign was old. The diner was what I was really pointing to." Rory explained. Even though she had stipulated before that there was to be no interruptions, she really did love her daughters asking questions.

* * *

Even though she had agreed to this second date with Tristan, Rory was still uncertain. He'd been chasing her down in the halls always accompanied by his friends, in order to say something that more often than not embarrassed her.

So she arrived early the next Saturday night in order to speak with Luke briefly and find a good seat.

When Tristan arrived, Rory slumped down in her seat and watched him walk to the counter.

"What can I get you?" Jess asked while Tristan looked around, his eyes sweeping past Rory each time he turned his head.

"Just a coffee thanks. I'm meeting someone."

"Oh yeah?" Luke had instructed Jess to be more personable to the customer and Rory was really enjoying the results.

"Yeah. We're going on a date."

"Huh. That your car parked out front?" Jess asked indicating the shiny sports car.

"Sweet ride isn't it?" Tristan asked proudly.

"If that's your car, must mean you're the guy."

"What guy?"

"Luke!"

Rory kept the menu in front of her face as she listened to the conversation before her.

"What?" Luke demanded, coming to stand beside his nephew.

"This is the guy." Jess stated before walking away to bus tables.

"What guy? Why does he keep saying that?" Tristan was clearly becoming nervous.

"So you're the guy who's taking Rory out, huh?"

"Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"Not if you follow a couple of simple rules."

"Who are you?"

"One; you will have her home on curfew. Not an hour later, not even a few minutes past. On time, you got that?"

"Seriously are you a cop or something?" he looked around again, maybe hoping someone would rescue him. Rory wasn't sure.

"Two; if I hear you made her do anything that she didn't want to do, or that you hurt her in any way, I will find you. Understood?"

"Ok. I'm just gonna go now-"

"Tristan!" Rory called out, dropping her menu as he backed up. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to have a little fun. I really am sorry if we scared you. This is Luke. It's his diner and he's not a cop but he's always been protective of me and my mom."

"You didn't answer me kid." Luke added as Tristan looked from Rory to him, horrified.

"I… yes. I understand."

"Good you can go then. Have a good time Rory." Luke added as she waved and led the way outside

"You should see your face. Priceless."

"That was mean." Tristan finally choked out as he started the car up with shaking hands.

"I just figured if you wanted to date me that badly you could hold your own with Luke. But I am sorry. I didn't expect him to go into full-on dad mode. I didn't even know he had a full-on dad mode."

"If you didn't want to go out with me-"

"I tried to tell you no. But you wouldn't listen to me. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Not show up?"

"You know where I live."

"Ok, well… Alright look." Tristan pulled the car over and turned to face Rory properly. "We both know I can have any girl I want."

"And you picked the one that's trying desperately to explain why she doesn't want you." Rory added.

"You want to explain it to me? I'm listening."

"It's just that… Well, this is going to sound kind of crazy, but you're like my dad."

"You were right. That does sound crazy."

"What I mean is," Rory continued, trying to find the right words to explain this in a way that wouldn't cause too many problems. "My parents went to a school like Chilton. My dad was popular, all the guys wanted to be him and all the girls wanted to be with him. But he and my mom had known each other since they were kids and it didn't seem to matter who else tried to get in the way, they only had eyes for each other."

"I'm failing to see how this makes me look like the bad guy here."

"Then my mom got pregnant and my dad freaked out and that was it. Their parents tried to push them into getting married, but that didn't work it only drove him further away from us because mom had said that no matter what she didn't want to get married at sixteen." Rory was amazed she was revealing this much to Tristan. Sure she was attracted to him, but she really couldn't picture him as a permanent fixture in her life, and this whole confessional thing was a little too Oprah for her tastes.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is… I already have a Christopher coming in and out of my life. I don't want another one."

Tristan studied Rory for a moment. "I just wanted you to have a little fun." He finally told her.

"I know that. And I would really like to have some fun with you. As friends."

"Friends?" he asked squinting as if trying to locate the word in an internal dictionary. "So we what, hang out and don't have sex?" he asked, a smile making its way back to his face.

"Pretty much." Rory replied. She was relieved; he seemed to be ok with her decision, but only time would tell.

"Anything I need to know in order to be a good friend?"

"Coffee."

"What about it?"

"It's very important. In order to function Gilmore's need massive amounts of coffee. You have coffee and we'll be fine."

"Ok. Good to know. So, I made a reservation. I don't know if you'd still be interested in going to dinner or not."

"Friends can eat." Rory decided.

"Can they?"

"I think so. We can give it a shot anyway." She replied.

"Ok then. Let's give it a go." Tristan shifted in his seat in order to drive and Rory smiled as she watched out the window. He'd finally listened. This was good.

* * *

**Reveiw**


	6. Party!

**AN: So, once again I will be taking a moment from Rory's life and twisting it into some fun for me. Not that I didn't love how the real scene played out, but, yeah, I'm weird and for some reaon I enjoy screwing with her life. Enjoy.**

**Thanks for your reviews: Alenor, cubbiegirl3419, Curley-Q, dancer288, JoPoGirlsKickAss, Juzzy88, nuttzZ1, Slovesemmett ****, Storygirl21, ****That Don't Make me a Bad Guy****, visionxofxme. I really appreciate people reading this.**

**Disclaimer: Still nothing.**

* * *

"Now I want to tell you a little something about aunt Lane as a teenager." Rory explained as Em sat on the floor playing with her dolls. Lo was more focused, sitting on the couch.

"Oh this is gonna be good." she said, thinking back over some of the things she'd heard about yet another not-so-related aunt.

"She had a secret boyfriend when we were in high school."

"Uncle Zach?" Emma asked looking up, suddenly interested. She idolised the men of Hep Alien.

"No it wasn't Zach, this was before she'd met him. This boys name was Henry and he went to my school."

* * *

Madeline Lynn, one of Rory's classmates was having a party. She handed out flyers to the people she wanted there, which somehow, included Rory. Madeline hadn't quite grasped the idea that she was supposed to hate Rory, just because she was Paris' friend first. Rory didn't mind though. It just meant, that for the time being, she had one more person in the halls of Chilton she could call a friend.

Originally Rory said she didn't want to go, but her mom talked to her about it, Tristan got in her ear, and by Saturday night she was at the party with her best friend Lane.

"Wow, this is unbelievable. My wedding won't be this big." Lane commented, looking around at the huge rooms as they walked inside. "This is amazing! People live here?"

"This is Madeline's house." Rory respond looking around for herself. It really was big. She'd never seen anything quite like it.

"Is this what your grandparents house looks like?" Lane was clearly in shock. The houses in Stars Hollow could fit into this place probably five times or more.

"No. I mean it's big but it's not this Hearst castlely." they continued to walk further inside. "Lane?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming with me. I'm still not a hundred per sent sure this was a good idea."

"Hey, I want to meet this new guy friend of yours. I've seen the pictures from the dance, but I need more. You've been holding out on me."

Rory looked at her friend curiously. What was that supposed to mean? "Not intentionally. There's just not that much to tell. He's Tristan."

"So I've heard."

"You came!" Madeline called out, as she came towards the two girls with her best friend Louise Grant.

"Yeah, I was finally convinced. This place is beautiful."

"Thanks it's my stepfather's." after a short conversation the girls were interrupted by Madeline and Louise's most recent boyfriends coming over to ask for a tour of the pool house.

With their departure, Paris arrived.

"So I didn't think you were much of a party girl." she commented as they walked through the party, on a mission to find soda.

"Well, I'm not usually but Tristan talked me around. So I thought I might come by and check it out."

"You came because of Tristan?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, I thought you'd already decided he wasn't good enough for you. But if you were looking for a second go-around, you're just in time." she explained before continuing on to the French soda table. Before Rory had a chance to ask Paris what she meant, Tristan and Summer - a girl he had been dating for a couple of weeks, since his and Rory's discussion about being friends - came in from another room arguing.

Rory kept an eye on the two of them as she spoke with Paris about her plans for cancer research, but Summer ended the fight by ignoring Tristan and he left the room. Rory's focused then turned back to Lane as she began to fret over a Korean boy zoning in on her.

As the two headed off to dance, Paris grumbled about how unfair it was that Lane could get a date in such a short amount of time, when she had been there nine years.

She stalked off to wait out the last forty-five minutes of her sentence, and Rory looked across the room to see Tristan standing alone watching Summer.

Before she had a chance to go to him and ask if he wanted to talk, Finn attached himself to her side.

"Are you having a nice time Love?" he asked as she looked around, trying to find her friends who it seemed had vanished.

"Yeah, sure. It's a great party." Rory twisted slightly in a way she hoped would convey to Finn she wanted him to let go of her.

"Oh I know, Mads is great with these things." He didn't get the hint.

"Hey, Finn have you seen Tristan anywhere?"

"You mean you missed the bust-up?" His eyes sparkled and Rory had a feeling that despite the fact they claimed to be friends, at this particular time, Finn wasn't the kind of friend that would be any good for Tristan.

"No. I saw that. That's why I'm looking for him." she explained finally locating Lane. She was smiling and gave Rory the thumbs up.

"Well I think he went out to get some air. That Summer sure knows how to do a number on a bloke, hey? I actually thought that you would have been good for old Dugrey."

"Yeah, well, what are you gonna do?" she asked, finally untangling herself from Finn's arm. "Can you excuse me for a second? I want to see if he's alright."

"Ah, so now we see your true colours," remarked the Australian, smirking at her.

"What are you talking about?"

"You swoop in and help mend the injured bird's broken wing. Very nice."

"No. I just want to check on my friend and see if there's anything I can do to help him."

"I'm sure there's plenty you can do Love."

"Goodbye Finn." Rory got halfway to the door before Lane grabbed her arm.

"We have a major problem!"

"What?"

"Henry, the guy I've been dancing with?"

"Yeah?"

"Ok so he's really good in school, he's going to be a doctor - paediatrician to be exact, his parents are extremely involved in their local church. He himself helps out with Sunday school. He speaks Korean fluently, he respects his parents and he's also really cute, very funny and surprisingly interesting."

"I'm not really following. What's the problem here?" Rory asked, genuinely confused. Henry sounded like a great guy for Lane. Rory had always thought he was nice.

"I have spent my entire life secretly rebelling against my parents rules. How could I fold this easily?" Lane demanded.

"Do you like him?" Rory asked cautiously. Lane was about to explode here, with the thought of dating someone her parents would like, it was best to tread carefully.

"Haven't you been listening? He's perfect!"

"Ok, well I don't really think that would be considered folding. Especially since you're at a party right now where I'm pretty sure," Rory looked around the room, trying to confirm her suspicions, "there's beer."

"Are you sure?"

"Well not certain, but-"

"No. I mean about me not folding."

"Oh, yeah. But if it would make you feel better I can take you to meet a boy who, if your parents knew of his existence, it may just kill them."

"I think that would work."

"Ok. Good, let's go." with Lane considerably brighter the two headed outside to find Tristan sitting alone in the dark, smoking a cigarette.

"Hey. That was quite a show you put on in there." Rory commented as she came to sit beside him on a bench. Tristan looked up briefly before smashing out his cigarette.

"Yeah, well. Someone had to do something to liven' this place up."

"Sure, sure. So, I wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine." Rory explained. "This is Lane, Lane, Tristan."

"Hi, it's nice to finally meet you." Lane said, smiling. "Rory's pretty much been keeping you all to herself."

"Well, you know," he grinned at the Korean. "She just can't bear to share me."

"I figured that. But I finally put my foot down when I heard about this party. I told her, 'Rory, as your best friend I must meet the boy that you refuse to date to deduce what is wrong with him'."

"And have you figured it out yet? What's my big flaw?"

"Far as I can tell, nothing yet. But I'll keep you posted."

"I'd appreciate that." Rory laughed as the two conversed so easily. Given the fact that her mother was so incredibly strict and wouldn't let any boy anywhere near her daughter, you would think that when actually face to face with one, Lane would become a mess. Somehow, unlike Rory she was always able to keep calm.

"Lane, there you are." The three of them turned to see Henry come through the doors, but at that moment, he only had eyes for Lane. "Sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping we could dance again?"

"Oh, well actually-"

"That would be great." Lane cut Rory off and Henry grinned. The two headed inside leaving Tristan and Rory alone.

"I guess she's decided that pleasing her parents isn't that big of a deal after all."

"What? They wouldn't like Henry?" Tristan asked. "He seems like a pretty good guy to me."

"Oh, no. They would love him. That's the problem. Lane never really wants to do anything that her parents would approve of. But they would definitely approve of Henry, and I guess she's decided that she likes him enough to put him through the torture of the Kim's."

"Ah, well. At least at their wedding you can tell everyone the story of how they met at a high school party with beer and cigarettes and a number of people making out on various surfaces."

"Yes. That would probably make a good story." They laughed as Rory tried to picture the look on Mrs. Kim's face if she were to actually detail this night for all of the Kim's family and friends. There would definitely need to be someone there to photograph that particular moment.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Tristan asked after their laughter had died down.

"Well, actually, I would love to. But Lane came with me…"

"And you can't leave her behind. Got it. Follow me." He stood up and Rory found herself trailing behind him into the main room of the party. With a quick glance Rory noticed that Paris had left, and Summer was also absent. Although it was very likely she was still around the party somewhere having fun.

"Tristan, what are we doing?" she asked as they reached Lane and Henry, dancing to a slow song.

"Excuse me Henry, I was wondering if we could have a quick word?" Tristan explained, tapping the other boy on the shoulder.

"Ah, sure. What's up Tristan?" he asked removing himself from Lane as she stood watching the two, just as confused as Rory.

"Well, you see, Rory has a very strict mother and so the girls really need to get home, as soon as possible. But," he turned slightly to allow Lane access to the conversation. "I was thinking that if you guys wanted to pick this up another time, maybe the four of us could catch a movie together. What d'you say?"

The other three responded affirmatively before Henry asked if he could have Lane's phone number.

"My last name's Kim, we're the only one's in Stars Hollow." She explained as none of them had anything to write it down with. And then she walked away with Tristan and Rory. "I can't believe I just gave my number to a potential Korean doctor." Tristan laughed loudly at that and Rory smiled. He seemed to be doing much better now.

"So, sorry to drag you away from all that fun Lane, but Rory and I were starting to feel…"

"You know how I am with parties." Rory explained to her friend. "But I'm glad you were having a good time."

"That's ok. It's probably a good thing we left when we did. Otherwise I probably would have fallen in love with him and we know how well that would go in my house."

"Well, you never know. There may still be time for the falling in love. He does have the necessary info to contact you after all." Tristan replied as they came to a stop beside his car. "Anyway, thanks for keeping me company in there Rory. I guess I'll-"

"Do you want to come to my place?" Rory asked, shocking herself. "I mean, we could have a movie night and I could educate you in proper Gilmore movie etiquette."

"Proper Gilmore movie etiquette? This sounds like something I definitely need to see."

"Ok. Great, well I'll meet you there. I'll just drop Lane home and call mom on the way. She can get everything organised for our arrival." Rory smiled. She loved introducing new people to movie nights. They were so much fun.

"Are you sure she won't mind?"

"Oh please, she enjoys it even more than I do. Don't worry, she'll love this."

"Ok. Great. It was really nice to meet you Lane and I'll make sure that you get your date with Henry some time soon. See you soon Mary." He added before climbing into his car.

The girls continued out until they located the Jeep. Lane watched Rory closely, noticing she hadn't reacted to being called Mary . "I thought you hated that nickname."

"When he was just doing to annoy me, I did. But, we're friends now and it's not so bad anymore. I would prefer that he stick with Rory all the time, but, you know, maybe he'll work that out for himself."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then I guess, eventually I'll get used to hearing Mary every now and then." Rory replied. She started up her mother's car and began to drive down the street headed towards home.

A few weeks ago she hadn't thought that Tristan would be a permanent fixture in her life, but now she was hoping that he would be. She really liked having him as a friend.

--

"After I dropped Lane off, I got home to find my mom and Tristan sitting on the couch, discussing… I think it must have been… Oh, right. Breakfast At Tiffanies. Apparently your uncle Tristan was as big and Audrey fan as your grandma. That pretty much sealed the deal. Mom loved him from that moment and there wasn't a thing he could do wrong in her eyes. Except of course change his mind and dislike miss Hepburn. But that still hasn't happened, so I think we're safe."

"Well, what happened to Henry? Why did he and Lane break up?" Lo enquired. When she was a little older than Em she worked out that, although these people were family, none of them were really her aunts or uncles and so she mostly just called them by their first names and dropped the title. There was the rare occasion when she would switch back, but for the most part she just referred to them as friends of her parents.

"There were a few reasons, biut we'll get to those later."

"I don't understand something." Emma said looking up at her mom.

"What's that?"

"How many names do you have?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Well, you're Mommy. Grandma calls you Rory. And your real name is Lorelai. But where did Mary come from? And where did it go?"

"Oh. That was just uncle Tristan being silly. He did work out that I didn't like the name and so he stopped using it."

"But why did he start in the first place?

"That's…. Something I'll tell you when you're a little older." Rory explained, hoping that would suffice.

"Ok." She returned to playing with her dolls as Rory stood up to stretch out her tired muscles. This really was exhausting, but she loved it so much.

* * *

**AN: Review!**


	7. The Bridge

**AN: Thanks for your reviews: Alenor, Andra-ggfan, Brianna Lynette, cowgirl8016, Curley-Q, iloveChiodosXD, InItForTheFame, JoPoGirlsKickAss, Juzzy88, Midnight-Gypsy101, nuttzZ1, Storygirl21, That Don't Make me a Bad Guy. You guys ROCK!**

**DISCLAIMER: Ch 1**

* * *

"At this point, I didn't like Finn." Rory began on her seventh day of reminiscing. "He had been rude to me at Madeline's party, and I was starting to believe that he wasn't that good of a friend to Tristan either.

"So when Lane and I were in Hartford one Thursday while my mom was at her business class, I saw Finn with a couple of his friends and I immediately froze. I didn't want to see him, let alone speak to him, but seeing as he was standing right in front of the store that we wanted to go into, I pulled Lane into the closest shop I could find.

* * *

"What are we doing in here?" Lane asked looking around the barber shop she and Rory stood in.

"I just... There's someone out there I don't want to see right now." Rory replied keeping an eye on the street where the boys were yet to move.

"We were almost at Record Breaker Incorporated though! Couldn't we just sneak past?" Lane begged. She had read about the store in The MOJO Collection, and hoped to finish off a few of her collections.

"Yeah, ok. But let's hurry." As they returned to the street, Tristan appeared beside them and Lane whispered their mission to get to the record store unnoticed by anyone else. Rory and Tristan had both been home to change since school let out, so thankfully they weren't sticking out like a sore thumb in their Chilton uniforms.

Just a few feet from the door however, one of Finn's friends bumped into Tristan and the six teens stopped on the sidewalk, all studying each other.

"Oh, sorry." Tristan apologised, then returning his attention to the door he was just about to walk through with Rory and Lane.

"No seriously, you couldn't see me there?" asked the one who had bumped into him. Rory immediately thought he was rude, he was the one that should have been watching where he was going more carefully.

"Not everyone's staring at you, Colin." Finn informed him.

"Hey, I know you. No, wait-wait, don't tell me. I'm seeing a uniform of some sort." The blonde one announced, looking at Tristan trying to place him.

"Maytag repairman." Finn offered sarcastically.

"How you doing Huntzberger?" Tristan asked the blonde, pulling him into a quick hug.

"Good man, good. How's Chilton been doing in the absence of its king?"

"Absence? What are you talking about? I never went anywhere." the boys all laughed. The girls shared a look, what was going on here? they were completely confused by the exchange going on right in front of them. "Nah, you left some pretty big shoes to fill, but I am doing my best." Tristan replied. "How's Switzerland?"

"Switzerland said its goodbye, and I will admit that it was a sad farewell, for the best though, Renni was beginning to get clingy and I don't like clingy women." Colin responded.

"You got kicked out of Zugerberg already?" Tristan asked, focusing on Colin's first comment. "That's gotta be some kind of record."

"Yeah well, what can I say? We're talented."

"You certainly are."

"So, are you going to introduce us to these lovely ladies?" Colin enquired, looking over at the two girls.

"Oh! Yeah, sorry. These are some friends of mine. And yes, I did just say I have friends who are girls, it wasn't a mistake, and before you ask we're still waiting on the apocalypse. Anyway, Rory Gilmore, Lane Kim, I'm very sorry you had to meet Logan Huntzberger and Colin McRae. And that's Finn, make sure you avoid him Lane."

"Why doesn't Rory need that warning?" Colin asked confused, looking from his Australian friend to the girl in question.

"Because Rory's already had the misfortune of meeting Finn at Chilton."

"Thanks for that mate." Finn said giving Tristan a hurt look.

"No problem buddy."

"So, what's going on?" Logan asked, addressing the three newcomers. "You guys got plans or what?"

Rory could see the light dimming in Lane's eyes. "We were actually going to the record store here. Lane's been dying to go." she explained, trying to extricate herself from whatever the boys were doing.

"As exciting as that sounds, how would you like to come for a bite to eat with us?" Logan added, giving an eerily familiar grin.

Tristan clearly wanted to catch up with his friends and Rory wanted to stay far, far away.

But she looked to Lane for the deciding vote.

"Sure, why not? We can always come back next week right?" she asked and Rory nodded, disappointed.

"Great. Let's go."

The boys led the way down the street, the four of them talking about some of the things they'd gotten up to in the past - apparently trying to impress the girls. Rory wondered how she'd gotten herself into this mess.

Three evil Tristan clones? How was she supposed to deal with that? All she could hope was that Logan and Colin would soon find another school, a school which happened to be far, far away.

Oh and Finn would also pull a Tristan and become a nice guy, because Rory was stuck with him regardless.

But she wasn't holding her breathe.

* * *

Aside from her mom and Lane, Tristan was starting to become Rory's closest friend.

Outside of school they spent quite a bit of time together, even after his friends had returned to The States after their expulsion from Zugerberg, their Swiss boarding school.

Tristan especially loved coming to Stars Hollow for movie nights, and having the townspeople stare at him as if HE'd escaped from a freak show just made him laugh.

That night that he, Rory, Lane and Henry were going to a movie. He waited in the diner for Henry and the girls to arrive.

"Aren't you Rory's boyfriend?" asked the boy who was serving the customers.

"Nah. That didn't exactly work out the way I'd been hoping. We're just friends." he explained.

"Huh."

"You're, um, Luke's son right?"

Jess laughed and Tristan wondered what he'd said that was so strange. "No. He's my uncle. My dad- Yeah, Luke's not my dad."

"Oh, sorry. I-"

"Doesn't matter. Did you want to order something?"

"Yeah. I'll just get four coffee's thanks. To go."

"What, did you move in with the Gilmore's or something?"

"No. They're not all for me. Rory and I are meeting a couple of friends for a movie."

"Right. I'll get your drinks."

"Thanks."

Rory arrived soon afterward, accompanied by Lane, and Tristan relayed the conversation to them both, moments before Henry arrived.

The four teens then headed off to the Black White and Read theatre and separated to line up for tickets.

"What are you doing?" Tristan asked Rory as she looked over her shoulder at the other two a little ways behind them.

"Nothing."

"They're fine." He told her without even needing to follow her line of sight.

"I am not looking at them. I'm looking at the world around me."

"Of course, but the world is fine too."

"It's just, this is Lane's first date, you know? I feel like it's kind of my responsibility that she has a good time."

"It's not your responsibility. It's Henry's. And mine, I guess, since I was the one who suggested the whole thing. So just relax, they'll be fine."

Rory nodded and turned back to the front to assess their progress in the queue, but after a moment turned back to watch over her shoulder again. Tristan turned her face forward again, not letting her watch her friend anymore.

* * *

"That was... a really bad movie." Lane announced once the four of them met up again after the movie.

"It really was." Henry agreed and everyone laughed.

"How about some coffee?" Rory asked, always ready for more caffeine.

"Sure." everyone agreed.

Rory grinned at Tristan as Lane and Henry headed off ahead to Luke's.

"It's going well."

"It's going very well. Are you gonna stop freaking out now?" he asked.

"Yeah. Ok." Rory finally allowed herself to relax as they all dropped into seats in the diner.

Rory found herself looking around for Jess as soon as she sat down, but he was nowhere in sight. Rory had no idea why she was looking for him, she only knew that she was.

* * *

On one of her late night trips to the bridge, Rory was amazed to find Jess sitting in the same spot that he had been sitting in just a little over a month ago. She hadn't been out there in a while, but there was just something about tonight that made her nostalgic for the creaky wood and the possibility of Kirk screaming through the night.

"Hey," she quietly announced her presence, hoping not to scare Jess, but he barely responded, short of slightly inclining his head. "I didn't expect to see you out here."

"Yeah, well, just felt like taking a walk. That apartment's a little cramped, you know."

"Actually, no. I've never seen where Luke lives, or, well, you live there now too I guess. I mean, I've always known that it was up there, but…" she let her words trail off, aware that she was doing that nervous talking thing he'd called her on the first night they sat out here together.

"Well it's small." Jess replied, and Rory nodded. He leaned back and rested his head on the crook of his arm as he watched the navy sky. "Do you know why I'm here?" he asked. Rory had a feeling he wasn't talking about the bridge.

"No. Not really. I heard Luke on the phone to your mom the day you came, but I didn't know who he was talking to at the time, and I'm pretty sure he didn't tell my mom too much when she invited you guys over because she never said anything to me. And she usually tells me everything.

"That's probably for the best." He replied and Rory couldn't help but look down at him. "I mean, I'm probably not what this town would consider as 'a first-class upright citizen'."

"Why don't you let us be the judge of that?" Rory asked him. She hadn't seen him anywhere outside of the diner, except here, tonight and the night of the dinner. So how was anyone supposed to form any sort of opinion about him?

"How would I go about changing their minds? The second I stepped off that bus every single person in this town had me pegged as a 'bad seed', someone to guard their daughter's from, and more importantly, in their minds at least, someone to hide their good china from."

Rory didn't say anything for a moment. That was the most she'd ever heard Jess say at once and she wasn't sure how to respond.

"Mom didn't," she finally replied. "She invited you in to our home."

"I didn't see the crystal out... or the good china."

"That's because we don't have any. But to her, that night was just about inviting in a new friend, making you comfortable. You haven't made any efforts towards her though," She couldn't explain why she was getting so worked up. There was just something about Jess' flippant attitude that rubbed her the wrong way.

"I know you. And I know Lorelai and-"

"You don't know us. Besides what we like for breakfast and where we live, you know nothing about us."

"What I mean is I've known people like the two of you. And none of it matters. Whatever is said or done in the beginning doesn't matter because everyone lets you down eventually. The only person you can rely on is yourself." Jess finished and Rory stared at him. Never had she met someone so young, yet already so jaded.

It made her incredibly sad for him.

"Not everyone will let you down." she replied. "There will always be someone you can count on."

"In seventeen years I haven't met one person worthy of that much trust. What makes you think I'll believe your rose-colored perception of the world, when all you know is this town?"

"You don't have to believe me. That's fine. You just keep living in your angry little shell. But I promise there will come a day when you realise that I was right." Rory pushed herself up and walked away from Jess again.

Only this time she had no desire to turn around.

* * *

The next night when Rory arrived at the bridge, she wanted to scream. She wished she'd never brought him there in the first place.

What had she been thinking that night? Who cared if he got lost wandering around the town? It wouldn't have taken him long to find his way home.

But she had brought him, and he was here now.

And she loved this place, so she would just have to learn to share. For an only child, that was easier said than done.

Just as she made up her mind to go home, she heard his voice.

"I shouldn't have said what I did last night. I'm sorry."

Rory turned back to see Jess watching her. She certainly hadn't been expecting that. But it was a very welcome surprise.

Coming closer, she raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. "I'm sure you know more of the world than this town. You're school's in Hartford right?"

"That's right." Rory replied, grinning at his small joke. "I've been to New York too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Mom and I drive down there sometimes to shop on weekends."

"I really was mistaken. You know all about the world."

"I am also planning a trip to Europe after graduation. So, yes, I will be very worldly."

"Or at the very least, European-y."

Rory laughed and watched as the smallest of smiles graced Jess' face for just a second. "Why did you say all of that stuff to me last night?"

"Because I- I was... angry."

"At me?"

"No. Not at you, you haven't done anything. I was angry at... everyone else. My dad left. My mom sent me away to live with a stranger. And Luke's just letting his idiot sister impose on his life in a really big way. It's just... None of its fair."

"Yeah, I get a little bit of that." Rory replied honestly. There were times when she found herself getting mad at her mom for not sticking to the plan that her grandparents had come up with. She'd get angry at her dad for letting himself fade out of their lives and then reappear whenever he felt like it.

And she hated herself for feeling that way about the two people who created her and loved her most in the world.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you any of this." Jess admitted, cutting through the silence.

"Because I want you to." Rory told him, looking him in the eye.

"It's late. You should get home," he informed her, turning away and rubbing his hands together to keep warm. Only then did Rory notice the drop in temperature. It was definitely going to snow again soon.

"I don't have to go. If you want to-"

"No. You should. I'm a 'bad seed' remember? Your mom wouldn't want you hanging around me."

"Jess-"

"I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast. Danish day, right?"

"Right, Danish day." Rory watched him walk away, trying to figure out what had just happened. It was as if he'd opened a vein, but then, too much personal information was leaking out and a clot had formed to stem the flow. She wished there was a way for him to stay open, permanently open, but she would just have to wait it out, she supposed.

* * *

"Did he change his mind?" a hopeful Lo asked. She liked the sound of this boy. Even after the mean things he'd said.

Rory thought back on it for a moment and smiled. "Yeah. Eventually he did."

"That's good." Emma added. "I like him." Rory and Lo looked at her and laughed. "What?"

"Nothing sweetheart. You're just... Cute." Rory replied as her daughter applied the famous Gilmore pout.

* * *

As much as she was enjoying their late night talks, Rory noticed that ever since she started meeting Jess at the bridge, her grades had started to slip.

Not dramatically so that her teacher's wanted to speak to her about it, but she knew.

So, even though she knew it would cause a setback in their relationship, Rory had to cut back on the secret meetings. Jess seemed to understand it. He noticed she was a little more tired each morning and knew it wouldn't be long before it came to an end.

When she walked into Doose's to replenish the coffee supply at home and pick up some No-Doze to help herself study for an upcoming trigonometry exam, Rory found Jess in line buying coffee filters.

"Hey." she came over and stood beside him. It had been almost two weeks since they'd seen each other without her mom or Luke present.

"Hi." he replied, looking ahead of him to see how much longer he'd have to wait.

And Rory realised that two weeks was all it took for Jess to shut down again.

If she wanted him to continue opening up, and she really did, then she was going to need to start again.

"Um, ok, well, I have to..."

"Yeah." she agreed and then headed down one of the aisles in search of coffee while trying to work out a way she could get through all the schoolwork she had coming up, and fix the problems she was having with Jess.

"Hey Rory." Rory turned to see Dean, stacking a shelf.

* * *

"Oh no. Not Frankenstein." Lo cried out.

"Who's Frankenstein?" Em asked, looking worried.

"He's one of the boys I met. This is the way that it happened, so you just need to be patent." Rory instructed as she started again.

* * *

"Thanks again for helping me find this job. I really appreciate it." Dean told her as she looked past him to see Jess leaving the store.

"All I really did was send you to miss Patty. She's the one you should be thanking."

"Well, I have a feeling that her idea of a thank you would be different from yours or mine." Dean replied and Rory laughed.

"That's true. In that case I'll accept your thanks."

"Good. I was thinking-"

"Dean?" Taylor Doose made his way over and scowled at Rory for disrupting his worker. "These shelves won't fill themselves young man. Rory I would appreciate you not distracting my staff." he added and she blushed slightly.

"Sorry Mr. Doose."

"Yeah. I'm sorry Taylor. I'll get out of your way."

Rory quickly grabbed her things and headed home, running the entire conversation through her mind. Dean hadn't gotten too far, but given her recent experience with Tristan and that first day she'd met Logan, she could pretty much guess where Dean had been heading.

The new blonde boy was a lot like his friend when it came to his techniques with girls, Rory had noticed when they had been out to lunch with their friends. She really hadn't liked it that much this time either.

Thank goodness Taylor had shown up when he did. She didn't think she could handle much more attention of the male variety.

* * *

"So you didn't date him?" a relieved Lo asked.

"No." Rory replied, causing her daughter's grin to grow. "But you should know that won't be the last we hear from... Frankenstein."

"He didn't get the hint huh?"

"No, not quite. We eventually set him straight though."

"We who?" Rory looked at Emma for a moment before she realised what she'd said.

"Ah... We'll get to that."

"I wish you'd stop saying that." Lo said in frustration. Rory just laughed at her.

* * *

**AN: Reveiw!**


	8. Logan Huntzberger

AN: Thank you for your reviews:

Curley-Q – Well, I figure (since I made her) I can make her just like her grandmother. Very impatient.

Vera Cobb – thanks for your comments, I'll try and pay closer attention to that.

Alenor – you'll have to wait just a little longer, but 'we' will be revealed soon.

Mallikad – he'll get there, eventually.

Texas' Sweetheart – thanks. But I'm still not telling.

nuttzZ1 – thanks. I'll try to make the wait between chapters a little shorter, since you asked so nice.

Storygirl21 – what was confusing? Finn being a dick? Coz I'm working on that right now, he will explain himself soon. Or was it Logan's 'Don't I know you?' Mmm, I not confused, but that's probably just coz I've read it a thousand times.

Lizzy likes the hot guy – I hope you've managed to get some sleep by now, I mean, it has been over a week, so chances are you have. And thank you, we are amazing, even if the rest of the world has no idea we exist. Do they? I'm never quite sure…

dancer288 – I'm very glad you like that aspect. And here's some more.

InItForTheFame – You'll just have to wait, like the girls do. But we'll get there

Midnight-Gypsy101 and That Don't Make me a Bad Guy - I really appreciate them all.

Disclaimer: Alas, I still own nothing

* * *

Rory exited Chilton, planning on heading back to Stars Hollow, grabbing a coffee from Luke's and going home to study.

But as she came out the front gate, heading to her bus, she found Logan leaning against the hood of his car, surrounded by a group of girls. Hoping that he would stay distracted long enough for her to sneak passed, Rory ducked her head and sped up a little.

"Hey, how have you been?" she cringed as he appeared next to her.

"Uh... Not bad, kind of busy, what about you?" she asked, hoping he would get the hint that she didn't have time to talk.

"Oh you know, my dad's been calling all the good schools in the area that I haven't been kicked out of yet. Trying to find somewhere for me finish out my senior year. He's decided I should stay close to home from now on."

"Good luck with that."

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, following her to the bus.

"I'm just not really that interested in talking to someone who finds it so entertaining getting kicked out of some of the best schools in the country. The world even." Rory replied, a little darkly. She would kill to attend some of the schools he'd been thrown out of.

"You don't like me. You know nothing about me, but, you don't like me." he replied, surprised

"I know enough. Tristan's filled me in on the necessary info I need about you."

"Well, now I don't believe that. Tristan would never say anything bad about me. Unless," he added as an afterthought "did he tell you about Vermont?"

"As a matter of fact, that did come up. So if you'll excuse me-"

"So, you just take his word on everything?"

"Not everything. But I trust him, and he seems to know you, so yes, I'm taking his word on this."

"You know he's not exactly an angel himself. I could tell you some-"

"I'm not interested in your stories Logan. Tristan is a good guy. I know him well enough to know that, despite his past, he has the potential to be a good man. You on the other hand... All I see in your future is your daddy's money."

"Ok, clearly I picked the wrong day to come say hello to you. How about I just go back to the car my 'daddy' paid for and we try this again tomorrow?"

"How about you go back to your car and we don't try to do this again?" Rory countered, turning to see the doors close on her bus, as it pulled away from the curb. "Damn it." pulling her cell phone out of her back pack, Rory stomped her foot as it flashed Low Battery at her. "God damn it!"

Trying to remember where the nearest payphone was located, Rory pushed her hair out of her face and massaged her temples. Arguing with people wasn't good for her health it seemed, it only caused her to get headaches.

"Was that your bus?" Logan called out to her, he was now back leaning against his BMW. His fan club had dispersed as had most of the other students in the area.

"Yeah. But it's fine. My grandparents live right around the corner so-"

"I could just give you a lift home. Save you from interrupting Emily's bridge game. And I'm sure Richard won't be back from the office for a few hours yet. Unless you want to wait around for the next hour."

"You know my grandparents?" she asked surprised. Why hadn't this ever come up before?

"Yeah, my mom's at that same bridge game right now. And my father, well Mitchum wouldn't forgive me if he were to hear that I left you stranded. He and your grandfather are like this," he held a hand up to indicate their closeness and Rory stared at him.

"Huntzberger... Mitchum... Your father is Mitchum Huntzberger?" she was amazed that she hadn't realised that earlier.

"As much as he dislike's to admit it, yes, Mitchum Huntzberger is my father." Logan raised an eyebrow, watching Rory fight an internal battle. "So, can I interest you in a ride home? At the very least you'll be able to get out of the cold." he explained, opening the passenger side door for her.

"Well, it's kind of out of the way."

"How out of the way?"

"Stars Hollow."

"Oh, yeah, that's no big deal. I know where that is. We've driven through there a couple times. Weird place though."

"I know, but I love it." Rory replied, glancing around again to make absolute certain that every possible person she could have asked to help her get home was gone. There really was no one left. "Ok, I'll accept your offer, but only because it is really cold out here and my mom and I haven't quite perfected those telepathic powers we've been working on."

"Well, of course. Once you have those all sorted, there's very little that you'll need from any of us normal people." Rory nodded as she climbed into the car. As soon as Logan was in his seat, he turned on the heater and Rory felt more comfortable within seconds.

"So, can I ask you a question?" Rory asked as they pulled out onto the street.

"Shoot."

"What did you guys do to get kicked out of Chilton?"

"Oh, I'm afraid that information is classified." Logan replied, glancing at Rory sideways. "No, well actually it wasn't just me and Colin. Tristan and Finn were involved, as well. They just managed not to get caught."

"And you didn't turn them in?" That was kind of surprising. She would have expected that when in a tight spot, Logan would do everything in his power to get out of it. Even if it meant dragging his friends down with him.

"Never. No matter what the circumstances, you must always protect your men. Stay silent for as long as possible, no matter how hard the enemy tries to break you." Logan explained in a very serious tone.

Rory waited a moment for Logan to continue, but he didn't. "You didn't answer my question."

"Yeah I was kind of hoping you'd forget you asked that question."

"Nope. I have an excellent memory. Like an elephant."

"That's weird, but ok. Well, we ah, it's kind of stupid." he explained and Rory watched him, still waiting. "We stole the headmaster's car."

"That is stupid. Why would you do that?"

"That's not all. We kind of took it apart, and reassembled it in the auditorium." Logan finished and, despite herself, Rory laughed.

"That's ridiculous. I'm surprised you even know how to do that. Did you have help?"

"Yeah. We hired a couple of mechanics; they managed to get the whole thing done in just a couple of hours, while Charleston was working late. We sort of told them that it was for a production of Grease."

"And headmaster Charleston had the right kind of car for them to believe that story?"

"Not exactly. They were a little slow."

Rory laughed again and glanced out the window. She was sad to see they were just heading into Stars Hollow. Somehow, her first trip into town with Tristan had been long and uncomfortable, but this was easy and she had actually enjoyed herself.

"Yep, this place is just as crazy as I remember." Logan remarked, watching as a group of people went about decorating the town square for the upcoming spring festival. In spite of the cold, winter would be over in a few days.

"That's just Taylor, he's town selectman, kind of like the mayor, only we have a real mayor and he's not as crazy. Taylor pretty much has a festival of some sort planned each week. But they're great, it's always a lot of fun to watch something go wrong."

"Nice. So, where to?"

"Well, actually I was going to stop in at Luke's for coffee before I went home."

"Ok, so Luke's... Luke's diner, here we go. Is the coffee any good here?" Logan asked, pulling over.

"It's the best. Did you want one?" Rory asked, lifting her backpack from the floor.

"Sure. Why not? Maybe I'll get one of those scary lectures too."

"Tristan told you about that?" Rory asked, embarrassed. She still felt a little weird about bringing Tristan to the diner these days, because even though they were just friends, she'd noticed Luke always giving him menacing looks.

"Oh yeah. He didn't want to at first, but he accidentally let something slip and we dragged the rest of it out of him. That was very clever."

"Sometimes I think he's still mad at me." Rory replied honestly, as they headed towards the door.

"Nah, he's just making you sweat for a bit. He told us that after he'd gotten over the shock of the whole thing that he realised it was pretty funny. Eventually he'll let you know he's fine with it."

"Well I'm glad. I really wasn't expecting it to be that big of a deal, but Luke went above and beyond what I'd asked him to do. Two coffee's to go thanks." she ordered from Caesar before indicating for Logan to join her at a table to wait for their drinks.

"So, now I have a question for you." he said sitting across from her. Out of the corner of her eye Rory saw Jess come through the curtain separating the apartment from the diner. She smiled at him, but he just kept walking after a quick glance at Logan.

"What's that?" she asked, turning her attention back to him once Jess disappeared through the door.

"Do you still hate me? Or have I redeemed myself now by helping you get home?"

"Well, for the record, that was two questions. And I don't actually live here. That would be really weird, although kind of heavenly, given that, living in the diner I would learn where the coffee is stored and I could eat even more of Luke's amazing burgers." Rory stopped herself from talking as Logan started to laugh.

"Ok, I'll try again. If I show up at Chilton tomorrow, will you talk to me?"

Rory bit her lip, pretending to think it over. "Yeah. I guess so." Luke came by the table to give them their drinks and Rory smiled as he looked at Logan in much the same way he looked at Tristan. It may have been a little weird, but without her dad around, it was kind of nice to have someone look out for her that way.

"Good. I'm going to wear you down, you know. You'll like me soon enough."

"You think so huh? Tristan said that he would convince me that us dating was a good idea, and look how that turned out."

"I never said I'd convince you to date me. But if you're already thinking that, then I guess I'm not going to have to work too hard now, am I?"

"You just tell yourself whatever you need to hear Huntzberger. I'm going home to study. Thanks for the ride." she added, as she walked away.

* * *

True to his word, Logan did show up the next day. And the next, and every day for the two weeks it took Mitchum to find a school that would take him.

By that point, Tristan was becoming suspicious.

"You know," he began as they walked to English Lit. "If I didn't know any better-"

"What makes you think you do?" Rory quipped, grinning at him.

"I would say that you like Logan." he finished, ignoring her jibe. Rory loved that. They could talk so easily now, even making fun of each other without missing a beat.

"Why would you say that?" Rory asked nervously. She'd tried to hide it, really she had, because she knew they would have to have this conversation.

"Well, you've gone home with him every day for the last few weeks, and you talk about him all the time."

"You're the one that brought him up." Rory tried to argue, but with the look Tristan was giving her, she knew she wouldn't win this. "You do it too." she added weakly.

"Not the way that you do. You aren't really going to deny this are you?"

Dropping into her seat, Rory looked up at Tristan again. "Ok, fine. I like him, are you satisfied? Do you really have to make a big deal about this?"

"Of course I do. You were so set against dating me, but a couple of weeks with Logan and you're just completely forgetting everything you said to me."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's me. Only an older model. We would have been so much better together."

"I just met him. Wouldn't that make him a newer model?" she asked confused. Car analogies were never really her thing.

"Well, no. See, he's older than us. He's wearing out Mare. His parts don't work as well. Plus I'm hotter."

"Take your seats guys. It's time for William Shakespeare." Max Medina, Lorelai's boyfriend announced as he came in and put his papers on his desk.

"You're an idiot." Rory hissed at Tristan as he slipped into his seat.

* * *

"What does that mean?" Emma asked, "His parts don't work?"

Rory bit her lip. She had to remember that she was telling this to an eight year old. There were certain things that needed to be censored, as much as she hated censorship. "Actually, you know what? I have no idea." She lied, as she could see Lo hide a grin. "Uncle Tristan never explained it to me,"

"Are you going to date this guy?" Lo asked. She liked the guy from the bridge better, but still, this new Tristan-esqe boy sounded like he was going to be interesting.

"I'm not going to date him, I have a husband." Rory replied. "But I did, yes."

"Did dad like him?"

"What makes you think they knew each other?"

"Well, did they?"

"I'm not going to answer that right now." Rory replied, waiting for the yelling to start. But both girls remained calm. They simply looked at one another for a moment.

"So, at this point in the story did you know daddy?" Em asked. They loved the story, but she was young and all she wanted was an answer to her original question.

"I'm making a snack," Rory replied, moving to the kitchen. "Can I get you anything?"

"MOM!"

She didn't think it would take them much longer to work it out, but for the time being she was going to continue having her fun.

* * *

She didn't get it.

Rory was trying to work out what was going on, while not revealing that she was so incredibly confused. But Logan had gone from playing her hot to very cold.

She knew that he was back at school. Finn had mentioned that he and Colin were at different schools, because Mitchum was sick of his son screwing up. He wanted him to shape up and take his final year seriously.

Apparently it was time to become a Huntzberger, whatever that meant.

It had been a week since she saw Logan and she hadn't heard from him at all, just bits and pieces from his friends.

"I told you." Tristan muttered into her ear as he leaned in towards her before sitting on her other side.

"What did you tell me?"

"Logan was the wrong choice. I told you that I-"

"Do you really need to do this now?" Rory asked him, seriously wishing he would just shut up. "I mean, isn't it obvious to you that I need consoling and I'm not in the mood for your gloating?"

"Well, yeah. But I'm a lot better at the gloating." he replied. After a moment of studying her face, he shifted in his seat and exhaled. "Ok, I'm sorry. Evil Tristan's going on a break now, so your friend, he's coming in and he'll make you feel better. Sound good?"

Rory nodded. "That sounds really good right about now."

"See this is the thing, I've known Logan a long time and I know how he operates when it comes to girls. It's not pretty, you should know that. We're kind of similar, and I know that's not good. I have been trying to work on myself a little since you and I became friends, but like I told you, Logan's older-"

"Not this again. I'm not interested in how 'his parts don't-"

"That's not what I was going to say. He's older and he has a certain way that he likes to live his life. Now, I may be wrong, but I don't think that he's going to change, just because of one girl. No matter how special some of us think she is." Rory gave Tristan a watery smile.

"This is so stupid. I know that. I don't even know him."

"But you like him and him being a guy like that hurts, right?"

"Yeah. I don't know why. I should just forget about him and focus-"

"On a guy who really likes you?" he asked in a way that worried her. She had been hoping that his interest in her would pass, but it really didn't look like that was happening anytime soon.

"On my school work. It's more important than dating some random guy anyway."

"Come on, I'll take you home. Maybe we can study a little too," Tristan suggested, taking her hand and pulling her towards the parking lot.

"You realise that in my house, suggesting study actually means that studying will be done? And, as per our earlier agreement, there will be no making out."

"Actually, our agreement was no sex. But if you want-"

"So, we'll study. Won't that be fun?" Rory asked heading away from him.

"Oh yeah. Sounds great."

* * *

**AN: Review!**


	9. Dinner & Drinks

**Thanks for your reviews: ****Alenor****, ****Andra-ggfan****, ****cowgirl8016****, ****Curley-Q****, ****iloveChiodosXD****, ****JoPoGirlsKickAss****, ****Juzzy88****, ****Lizzy likes the hot guy****, ****nuttzZ1****, ****Storygirl21****, ****Texas' Sweetheart****, ****That Don't Make me a Bad Guy****.! You guys rock! And I'll tell you now that the mysterious father shall be revealed very soon. Chapter 11 to be exact, and I'll try and remember to actually post it quicker than I have been so I stop torturing you. Thanks again.**

* * *

"I'm guessing you probably hate me right about now." Logan joined Rory as she walked out the front of Chilton. She was almost happy to see him, but then she remembered.

"Why would I hate you Logan? I mean, I thought we were getting along pretty well. Then I don't hear from you again. No note, no call, not even a lame excuse from your friends. Oh, no wait, I got that. Finn was very informative, by the way. You should be proud."

"Okay I agree that wasn't my brightest idea, but my dad made it very clear that when I came home I was going to have to get my act together. When he got me into Andale he told me I was going to start concentrating, and that apparently means no fun for me. No dating, no parties, no flirting even."

"Well thank you for telling me that. But we weren't dating, and I don't think I was flirting, so you're off the hook. You can head back to your school and follow your father's rules."

"But he's gone out of town for a few weeks," Logan continued to explain, brushing aside Rory's comment. "And my mom's a little lax with the rules, so I was thinking I should come and explain myself to you... see if I can get you to forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive. I have to go, you have a nice life." She replied curtly.

"Rory, come on. I'm trying to tell you I'm sorry."

"Why is it that every guy I meet does something early on, which they regret and feel the need to apologize for?" Rory asked, turning back around to face him. "Do I have some sign attached to me somewhere? 'Screw up, it's ok, all will be forgiven'?"

"See, I knew you were mad." He was being so calm, it was so incredibly infuriating.

"You had me thinking that my first impression of you had to be a mistake. I thought you were different. I thought you were a nice guy. But you proved me wrong. You should go."

"Remember that first day I drove you home?" he called out before she could get too far.

"Yes, I remember." Of course she remembered that day; it had been a great afternoon.

"Well, I'm sticking to that. You may hate me at the moment, but I'm going to change your mind back again. You can trust me on that, that's a Huntzberger promise." He added before walking away.

Rory watched him go, before rolling her eyes and continuing outside to where her mom was waiting beside the jeep.

"Hey babe. Who's the Christopher Atkins wannabe?"

"His name is Logan." She replied, reaching for the coffee that Lorelai held out for her.

"Is he a friend of yours?" The older woman asked, moving the beverage just out of reach, waiting for Rory to look at her.

"Nope. Not now, not ever. Hopefully he'll realize that soon and stop bugging me." Rory snatched the coffee from her mother with a scowl. She was not in the mood to play games when it came to her caffeine, especially not today.

"Jeez, what's this one done?"

"Nothing. I don't want to talk about it. Can we just go, please?" she begged, walking around to the passenger side.

"Sure, we can go, but I wish you would talk to me. Or Tristan. It seems like you've been keeping just about everything to yourself these days."

"No I haven't." Rory retorted, keeping her eyes on the road as they drove.

"Who have you been talking to then? Cause I know that there's got to be a lot going on in your life, sixteen is a difficult age, trust me I remember. But whenever there was something happening, you would always tell me about it. Why did that change?"

"Nothing's wrong, and nothing changed. I'm fine." Why was this so important? All she'd done was say she didn't want to talk about some stuck up rich boy, and suddenly her mom was seriously worried about her keeping all the big issues to herself.

"If you say so," Lorelai replied, turning her attention back to the road. She would try again later.

* * *

Rory sat throwing stones at the thin layer of ice over the lake. She had five assignments she was supposed to be doing, but she just wasn't in the mood to be at home. Not with Lorelai giving her _'I'm here for you'_ looks. As soon she went to bed Rory headed outside to her happy alone place.

It hadn't been her place for a while though, and she was hoping that she would be able to do as her mother wanted, and talk to someone about the things that were on her mind. But Jess wasn't there.

So now she sat alone, attempting to skip stones across the ice, but most of them just landed with a _clink_ and caused a crack. From over her shoulder came a smooth stone, skipping across the frozen water a lot further than any of hers had.

"You graduate already?" Jess asked, causing her to smile for the first time in hours.

"No, not yet. But I figured that I could take a night off from being the perfect student." Rory replied as he came to sit beside her. "My day pretty much sucked, and I wanted to come to somewhere that I loved."

"So, you've been pretty busy with school lately. Any other reason we stopped these little rendezvous'?"

"There was this… Well, I mean, I sort of thought that… No. No other reason." She stumbled through her sentence as Jess studied her.

"Did you want to talk about something?" he asked, as if reading her mind. There was defiantly something there.

"I don't know. I already talked to my friend about this, and I know that it's stupid, but there's this guy…"

"The blonde with the sports car?" Rory could have sworn she saw the quickest flash of jealousy on his face. But it was gone before she could be really sure, and she just didn't have the energy to ask him about it.

"Well, yes. But, not the first one, Tristan's just a friend. But he has this other friend, and at first I just thought I should ignore him, because he was so… Tristan, only worse. But now…"

"It's completely up to you, but I can listen if you want." It looked as if he was struggling to say that. And the only two reasons Rory could come up with were that he either, really didn't care, but just spoke for the sake of it (she knew that couldn't be it though, because Jess only verbalized what he really had to) or he just really didn't want to hear what she was struggling with. "Make up for me being an ass in the market the other day." He added. She knew he meant it as sort of a joke. But it wasn't funny.

"That's just it though. I'm sick of… people being an ass and then turning around and apologizing, like a few words can make up for it all." Rory told him, looking up to see Jess' surprised expression. "Just forget it. I thought this would make me feel better, but…" she moved to get up, but froze when she felt Jess' hand on her wrist. The first thought that entered her mind was that _he_ had never touched _her_ before.

"I am sorry. Whatever that guy did to piss you off… Well I'm kind of glad he did, because it made you come out here tonight." Her wrist was on fire and she couldn't take her eyes off him as he spoke to her. Then he let go.

She didn't know what to say or do. Once she lost contact, she felt as if her world had been tipped upside down. Nothing felt right anymore and the only thing she could think to do was get home. Without another word Rory set off running in that direction, with no idea what was happening to her.

* * *

"I hate to be the one to deliver this message," Tristan announced meeting Rory at her locker between classes. "But it was either me or Finn and we were afraid he might mess it up."

"What message?" Rory asked amused. She was slowly getting used to Finn. After meeting the friends that had left him behind in Hartford and having Tristan there to de-Finn some of the things that he said, she was starting to understand a little more about him. He wasn't as annoying and full of himself as he first seemed

"It's from Logan. But remember, just the messenger." Tristan replied, holding up his hands in surrender. Rory nodded and he continued. "I'm an ass-"

"I'm sorry, are you delivering a message from Logan or yourself? Or are you just channeling every guy in my life right now?" Rory asked with a wry smile.

"This is what he told me to tell you. Now, shush. I have to do it right or he'll be mad."

"Ok, continue. Logan's an ass."

"That's right. I'm an ass and I realize that the last thing you want to hear right now is a lame apology, but this is what I need to say, you're different to the girls that I've met in the past, and-"

Rory waved a hand at him, to stop him from speaking. "Tris, I'm sorry, but can you not say this as if it's actually you? It just sounds weird."

"Ok, ok. Gee, you're very difficult to get forgiveness out of." He took a deep breath, mentally running through what he needed to say once more. "Ok, so basically what he wanted me to say was, obviously, that he's sorry. And he would like to take you to dinner as a thank you for holding back while you were mad at him."

"A thank you for… What makes him think that I'll say yes?"

"Well, you see, that's my job. I'm supposed to convince you that contrary to what you were apparently yelling at him on the street, and what I've already told you, that he is in fact a nice guy and totally worthy of your time."

"Right, ok. And how do you think that's going?" Rory asked, becoming more and more amused. This was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.

"Not that great, which frankly suits me just fine. I may regret this later, hell, there's a ninety eight per cent chance that I will, but truthfully Ror, he isn't all bad. Also, this is a bonus, if you were to give him one last chance and he screwed it up again, he swears that's it. He'll leave you alone."

"Can I have some time to think about this?" Rory asked, not even sure she should give it that much consideration.

"Yes, of course. Mitchum won't be back for another two and a half weeks, so that's pretty much all the time Logan will have until the next business trip. While his father is in town, Logan is grounded, until further notice."

She had a feeling she would regret this. It wasn't a good idea, but she couldn't stop the words from coming out of her mouth either. "I'll have an answer by tomorrow morning." She told him just as the bell, announcing the beginning of the next period, rang.

* * *

"Are you sure you went out with this guy?" Lo looked at her mother very questioningly. "Because it really does sound like you hated him."

"I'm sure. I may be getting on in years, but there are some things that a girl never forgets." Rory replied, satisfied with the answer, Lo signaled for Rory to continue.

* * *

Rory sat in the diner, at the same table she and Logan had shared on that first day they waited for their coffees. She had just given her order to Luke and now she was waiting for Logan.

She had spent the previous night sitting out at the bridge again, but she'd been alone the entire time, so she'd returned home and went to sleep. Then in the morning she gave Tristan an answer to deliver to Logan.

Her answer had been more like instructions than a simple one word response though. She had told Tristan to tell Logan to meet her at the diner so she could make a proper decision. She also said that sending his friend in to do the difficult task was childish and she wanted him to prove to her that he really wanted this.

When he walked through the door, she could tell by the expression on his face that she would be leaving there with a date. There was no way around it; she did like him, regardless of the way she had been speaking to him. But she firmly believed that he would only get this last chance. She refused to let him run circles around her any longer. If she didn't like what she saw from this point onwards, that was it, she was going to pull the plug.

"You actually showed up." He looked surprised. "I was half expecting to walk in and find the place deserted. The grisly diner owner, the only one around, all set to harangue me about mistreating you."

"The thought did cross my mind, but I figured I should come up with a new plan of attack, or pretty soon every guy will know just how to work around Luke's and my little tag team."

"Every guy? How many dates have you got coming up?" Logan asked sitting down. "Never mind, that's none of my business. I just came for my answer. As promised I will back off if that's what you _really_ want."

"Well, I thought about it, and I have decided that I'm going to give this one last chance."

"You will? That's great. Ok, so I'll go now, before I say anything to ruin the tiny shred of trust you've given me. But, how about I pick you up at your place, tomorrow night? Seven sound good?"

"Yeah. That sounds great." She quickly wrote her address on a napkin and handed it over. "I'll see you then."

"Who was that?" Jess asked, watching Logan walk out the door and get into his car.

"His name is Logan. We're going out tomorrow." She replied shortly. He hadn't shown up last night, and it wasn't like they had a plan to meet, but still she'd wanted to see him, to try talking to him again. Talking to Jess made her feel good in some weird way.

"Going out, going out? Or will this be another one of those nights where the guy thinks he's in for a nice evening, but in reality all he's going to get is a pseudo-fatherly scalding?"

"It's a date. A real one. This is different than it was with Tristan."

"Is it really? Coz it looks exactly like the last time to me. Only this guy seems, if possible, even more self-righteous."

"I don't really care how it looks to you. I like Logan, and I'm going out with him. Now can I just get my order?" she asked, trying to signal the end of the conversation.

"Do you really? Or did you just run out of reasons to say no?" Jess walked into the kitchen, leaving Rory to mull over his final question. Why was he mad at her? What had she done wrong?

* * *

"We went on our date and I really did have a nice time." Rory concluded as Lo looked shocked at what had just been said to her mother. Em was too busy trying to work out if she'd ever seen her daddy in a sports car, or if he would say something mean. She couldn't really imagine either, so she just returned to her coloring in. She had only been half listening anyway, so maybe she had misheard something. She decided she would just ask about it later.

"As much as your uncle Tristan disliked it – I didn't even realize he had a real problem at the time, I thought he was just kidding around – I wouldn't give up. We had fun together and I wanted to keep this boy in my life if I could, because I liked him, and I could tell he liked me back. Which was a lot more than I could say for other people. So, even though we had to be just a little bit sneaky, until his dad forgot about the grounding, it was fun. Of course I couldn't tell my grandparents, because with them being so close to the Huntzberger's it probably would have stayed hidden for about, I don't know, twenty seconds.

"I had to tell my mom though, because even if we were having a difference of opinion about me internalizing things like she thought, she was still my best friend. After she finished teasing me about my 'not friends now or ever' comment, she was very excited for me, your daughter's first boyfriend is a big deal," she added, eyeing Lo carefully. Rory was hoping that when it came time for her daughter's to start dating they wouldn't go through what she and Lorelai had. "A couple of weeks after we started officially dating, there was another party thrown by someone at my school."

* * *

She wasn't sure how it had happened, but Lane had somehow convinced her mother to let her out of the house for the night. She would be joining Rory at the party being thrown by one of the students, Rory wasn't even sure she had met them. Logan and his friends would be there as well as Lane's still-secret boyfriend, Henry. Rory had tried talking to Lane about explaining things to her mother, but Lane was adamant. She could not and would not tell Mrs. Kim about this boy. She just liked him too much.

Rory couldn't exactly tell her off for it though; she too was trying to keep her relationship off certain people's radar's so she really didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to that argument.

When the two girls arrived at the party, fashionably late, thanks to Logan, they headed inside and were once again in awe of the home they stood in. It was even bigger than Madeline's.

Within minutes Rory had lost track of Lane, who had been so excited about actually getting to see Henry, instead of just talking to him on the phone, whilst pretending it was Rory, she could barely sit still the whole way there.

What she did find however was Tristan, sitting alone on the balcony, much like he had at the first party she had attended. Only this time he wasn't just smoking a cigarette.

"Mary's here! The party can start." He announced, to no one in particular, a few people walking by the door glanced at him, but then just continued on their way.

"Have you been drinking?" Rory asked, taking a step towards him. He hadn't called her that in a long time.

"Well, yeah. It's a party Mare, what else am I supposed to do?"

"We've been to parties before and you haven't drunk anything other than soda." She replied, not sure if she should be worried about him, or be yelling at him.

"That was when you were at the parties with me. You're here with Logan tonight, so I figured that it probably doesn't matter what I do." He slurred, and Rory wrinkled her nose as she caught a particularly strong whiff of his breath.

"Do you realize how stupid you look right now?" she demanded. Apparently she was going to throw away her concern and just go in for the yelling. "You're probably about one drink away from becoming a slobbering maniac."

"Ah, well. You just go on back inside and enjoy the party. I'm not your responsibility." He waved her away, but she stood firmly with her hands on her hips.

"No. Come on, get up. I'll get Logan to drop you home." She replied, pulling on his arm, but he yanked himself out of her grip.

"I'm not ready to go yet." He growled as she stood, speechlessly, staring at him. This was not the boy she had come to know as her friend. He was acting even worse than when they had first met.

"Well I am not going to leave you out here on your own. You could break your neck falling off this thing... or worse. So get up. I want you to come to my house and sober up."

"No thank you." He replied, turning away from her. Rory walked around so that she stood in front of him again.

"Tris, tell me what's wrong. Why are you acting like this?" she asked, sitting beside him and trying to ignore the strong odor of whiskey.

"I'm not _acting_ like anything. This is me, so if you don't like what you see, then go back to your boyfriend. Oh no, on second thought, you may want to steer clear of him, seeing as he's the one that taught me how to do this."

"I'm going inside now. And I'll give you until tomorrow to explain to me what the hell is going on. You can apologize then too if you want us to continue being friends." She added as she stood up and turned to head inside, but Tristan grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him.

Before she had a chance to object, Rory found herself pressed against Tristan as he shoved his tongue into her mouth. She didn't drink, and after tonight she was pretty sure she never would. The whiskey he had been drinking tasted awful second hand. She couldn't imagine it being much better the first time around.

"Stop it!" she yelled at him, pushing back so that he landed on the bench with a thud. "What the hell are you doing?" she demanded. Tristan just sat, staring at her a little dazed.

He stared at her, as if trying to figure out where they were and why she was yelling. She crossed her arms and took a step back. "I'm going to find Finn. Stay here, I'll be right back." She ordered before turning and heading into the party.

Finn wouldn't be happy about his party experience being cut short, but she couldn't really explain this to Logan just yet. It would be ok though. Finn would help his friend, and in the morning, everything would go back to normal. At school on Monday, all would be forgotten.

At least, that's what Rory told herself as she searched the house for the Australian.

* * *

"That was the only thing that he ever did that made my mom mad at him." Rory finished as Emma came back into the room. She'd been coming in and out all through Rory's last instalment, going from room to room trying to find things she could draw as she grew tired of coloring in other people's pictures. Rory had had to clam up at times towards the end, but she was pretty sure that her baby hadn't heard anything too damaging.

Lo on the other hand was stunned. "I can't believe he did that. Especially when you were dating his friend. Oh my God."

"I know. But it's not a big deal now. We resolved that years ago."

"Good." Lo replied. She was thinking to herself how different the people in her life were starting to look since her mom had started this story. There was just so much she'd never known.

* * *

When Finn dropped Rory home that night – no questions asked as to why she was leaving without the people she had arrived with– he promised to make sure that Lane and a then unconscious Tristan would both make it home safely.

She walked through the front door and burst into tears, causing her mother to make a hurried excuse, hang up the phone, and jump off the couch.

"Rory? Honey what happened?" she asked, pulling her into a hug.

"I don't know what I did wrong." She confessed.

"Did wrong when? You gotta help me here, honey. Drag Mommy along. What happened?"

"Tristan was so angry. He was drunk and mad at me, but I don't know why."

"He was drunk..?" Lorelai repeated slowly, she had trusted this boy with her daughter, but now she was starting to think that had been the wrong choice. "What did he do?"

"He kissed me. But it's ok. Finn's getting him home now. I don't think he knew what he was doing."

"Rory, sit down, come on." Lorelai led her to the couch and they sat down. "Now, start from the beginning."

Rory tearfully explained the whole thing, from when she arrived at the party to Finn checking one final time that she was ok, before driving away.

"Babe, you know what's happening don't you?" Rory shook her head and wiped her eyes. She was confused and upset and didn't understand any of it. "He's jealous." Lorelai explained. "He likes you and he's jealous of Logan."

"But we're all friends. I don't… Oh no." she stopped as she realized what her mother was saying. "I didn't think it was serious. I thought he was just joking around. But he basically told me… What do I do now?"

"You have to talk to him. Get everything out in the open and see if you can save your friendship. Also you need to let me whack him over the back of the head."

"What? Why do you want to do that?" Rory asked, shocked.

"He should have been honest with you from the beginning. Idiot." Lorelai pulled Rory into another hug, "Everything's going to be fine. You'll see. You guys will get through this," she added, rubbing Rory's back.

* * *

"She was right. Of course. He showed up late the next day, wearing very dark glasses and apologized profusely. I confronted him like she said I should do and he told me that, yes, he did like me that way. I told him that he was my friend and I didn't want to lose him, but I didn't think that we should spend too much time together while he had those feelings. 'Ok, I'll try and get over it.' He promised."

"And did he?" Lo asked. She'd always kind of wondered if there had been something romantic between the two. She could never work out if it was just in her imagination though.

"Eventually yes. I mean, he wouldn't have married Joy and had Holly if he didn't. I know him, and I am certain he wouldn't marry someone or bring a child into the world if he was still harbouring feelings for someone else."

Lo smiled at that. She was relieved. Of course her parents loved each other, she saw evidence of that every day, Tristan always caused her a little bit of worry though. But if her mom said everything was ok, she had absolutely no reason to doubt her.

* * *

**AN: I don't know what it is with me and getting these guys drunk. It keeps happening and I can't sem to control it. Let's just blame my parents for now. Anyways, there's the update you've been begging for.**


	10. ATisket, ATasket, Sort Of

**AN: Thanks for your reviews: Alenor, Andra-ggfan, Juzzy88, Lizzy likes the hot guy, Storygirl21, That Don't Make me a Bad Guy. I'm working on making you all happy, but now that I think about it, that may not be posible. Hopefully none of you will hate me.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nada.**

* * *

"In the early stages of our relationship, I tried avoiding Doose's, because I didn't want to give Dean a chance to ask me out. Especially after what happened with Tristan at the party, I didn't want to take any chances. But then my mom invited Logan over for dinner, and asked me to go and pick up the food from Al's."

* * *

Logan volunteered to come along with Rory for the walk. "Use me as your pack horse." He instructed as they left the house.

"I can carry this stuff on my own, you know. You don't need to help me."

"I'm sure you can. But I didn't really want to be left alone with your mother. I'm not quite ready for the inquisition yet."

"Oh, so that's your only motivation? And here I thought you wanted to spend time with me."

"That's a motivating factor in just about everything I do, it just goes without saying. But another incentive is that I'm not good with parents. I'm just glad that your dad isn't around, that would be even worse." With one look at Rory, Logan realised his mistake. Her dad was a no go subject. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

She nodded with a tight smile. "I know. It's fine. I have Luke to terrify the boys in my life, anyway. Maybe by the time I get married, I'll have an actual father. Something to look forward to right?"

"When you get married?" Logan repeated slowly. "Well, that ought to give your mom some time to find you a dad."

"Well, obviously it's not something I'm thinking about right now." She replied, trying to put him at ease. As soon s she'd said the 'm' word, Logan looked like he had a gun pointed at his head. "It just gives her a long time frame to find the perfect man. Or for Christopher to grow a pair." Rory clamped her mouth shut. She had never said anything like that about her father before. Sure, she had thought some not-so-nice things about him, but never had she verbalised them. Logan chose that moment to change the subject.

"Aren't we getting Chinese?" he asked as they stopped out the front of Al's.

"Yeah, Al has the best egg fu yung in Stars Hollow."

"Ok, but this is a pancake place. Are you sure we're at the right address?"

"Trust me. Al started out making pancakes years ago, then he decided to switch to international cuisine, but since he already had like a thousand napkins printed up, and he liked the sign, he never bothered to change the name."

"Ah." Satisfied with Rory's explanation, Logan held the door open for her to enter the restaurant. Rory waved to a couple of people inside as they made their way to the counter.

"Hey Tommy, I'm here to pick up the order my mom called in." She announced speaking to a boy about her age.

"Sure Rory. One sec." He disappeared into the kitchen as Rory whispered to Logan to just ignore all the people staring at him. He wasn't intimidated by them, but he didn't find it quite as funny as Tristan.

"Rory?" she turned at the sound of Dean's voice, a smile painted on her lips as she reached for Logan's hand.

"Hi Dean." Logan glanced at her quickly. She wasn't big on the PDA, she had explained that she was a private person and that it just wasn't her thing. This being her first relationship, she was still trying to work out how she was supposed to act, she had added.

"Picking up dinner for you and your mom?" he asked, sparing a look in Logan's direction.

"Yeah. And my... boyfriend." She added hesitantly.

"Oh. Right. Well," he was handed his order and Rory could see his face flood with relief. "I have to get this stuff home. My mom only allows take-out once a month and my little sister will kill me if I don't bring her the egg rolls." He explained as Logan accepted Rory's order.

"Yeah. We should be going too." Logan replied, handing a bag to Rory as he draped his free arm around her shoulders. "Good to meet you man." He added, as the three of them headed to the door.

"Y-yeah." Dean stuttered and then started in one direction as Rory and Logan went in the other, walking along the quiet streets back to her house.

"So... Boyfriend?" Logan questioned once they were alone and Rory hadn't spoken in awhile.

"I'm sorry. I know that was probably something we should have talked about, but I just wanted to make it clear to Dean that I wasn't interested, you know? And what better way to do that, than to tell him that I'm taken?"

"No, no. That's fine. I was just thinking how your mom's definitely going to want to have that chat now. Me being her daughter's first boyfriend and all." He added with a grin.

"I'm sorry." Rory repeated. "I'll tell her to be nice."

* * *

"And that is how 'we' got rid of 'Frankenstein'." Rory explained, causing Lo to laugh out loud.

"Nice. So is he really gone now?" She asked, grinning.

"Not completely. You girls have met him actually. Dean Forrester, he run's Doose's market now. I heard that he wanted to be a contractor at one stage, but he's still at the market where he got his first job in town."

"The manager of Doose's was your stalker?" Em asked. Rory looked to her oldest daughter and shook her head. She wished Lo wouldn't teach her sister everything she learned from her grandmother.

"He wasn't a stalker. He just had a harmless crush. But he got over that in no time after he met my boyfriend."

"That sounds so wrong." Lo muttered under her breathe, hiding a grin.

"Oh!" Rory swatted her with a magazine. "You know what I mean."

* * *

Rory watched Tristan walk down the hallway with his new friends, Duncan and Bowman.

After they had talked about not spending as much time together, he had pretty much dropped out of her life altogether.

If it weren't for the classes they shared, Rory was pretty sure she wouldn't see him at all. But even that wasn't a guarantee as Tristan had been absent from school often since falling in with his two newest companions.

"I know exactly what you're thinking in that pretty little head of yours Love," Finn announced as he followed her gaze to their friend down the hall.

"That's a scary thought." She replied, looking at him with a smile. Finn had been kind of like a go between since 'the incident'. She was thrilled to still have at least that much contact with Tristan. "Tell me, oh wise one, what am I thinking?"

"Well, aside from how devilishly handsome your exotic friend is," he replied with a big grin that reminded her of a time when she had wanted to hit both him and Tristan for that exact facial expression, "you're thinking that those two imbeciles are just about the last people on the planet that he should be hanging around with. You're thinking that Logan, Colin and I look pretty good in comparison, even with some of the stupid things we've done together in the past, because we weren't dumb enough to get caught out as many times as Dumb and Dumber have. And you're also thinking that you want to tell your unky Finn what happened to break the two of you up."

"I was not thinking that last part. Nice work on the rest of your mind reading though." Rory praised him, watching as the three boys disappeared out a side door.

"Come on Rory! It's not fair." Finn whined. "I was totally cool, driving you home from that party and not asking any questions, coz I figured you'd tell me later. But it's been weeks and both of you have stayed completely silent on the subject. You've gotta give me something here."

"Finn it was nothing really. It's not important." She knew that even though she said those words he wouldn't give up.

"That is a blatant lie, and a pretty pathetic one at that. I mean, you could at least tell me he made a pass at your mother or something. Tell me something plausible."

"You would believe that Tristan made a pass at my mother?" Rory asked incredulously.

"Actually no, he'd believe that I did that." Finn replied, after a moment of thought.

"You've never even met her." Rory protested. "What makes you think she's your type? And I mean, aside from the fact that she's female and has control of all her facilities?"

"Well, I saw a couple of pictures around your grandparent's house when I was there for your birthday," he replied, causing Rory to groan at the memory. "And I've got a pretty good imagination even without those. So I can pretty much just picture you, add a few years and presto, we have Lorelai Gilmore, MIL-"

"Don't finish that acronym, I beg of you." Rory squeezed her eyes shut trying to erase the memory of what she knew Finn had been about to say, but it was too late. She could hear it loud and clear in her mind.

"Stop trying to distract me Gilmore. I want an explanation for why Joey and Dawson aren't speaking this week." Finn pressed as they entered the cafeteria. At least Tristan was only cutting out on lunch, and not classes. For now anyway, Rory thought to herself.

"I'll have to remember you said that, so I can mock you for it later." Rory replied, finally resigning herself to her fate. She would have to tell Finn at least part of what had happened, but she would leave most of it up to Tristan, let him choose if he wanted his friends to know what had really occurred. "Ok well, you know that Tristan had been drinking?"

"Do I ever. I was drinking with him to begin with, but then it got to the point where it was more than even I could handle and I had to take a breather."

"Well he didn't. And when I found him on the balcony we talked for a bit and I told him I wanted him to come to my place and get cleaned up a before he went home. But Tristan didn't want to and when I tried to leave to find Logan... he kissed me."

"Ah, now I understand it all."

"You knew?" Rory asked, certain that the expression on Finn's face was one of true understanding, he wasn't just trying to stop her explanation, he really didn't need it.

"Of course I knew. I just didn't think he was going to go through with anything. Not since your 'I want to be friends' speech. Then you met Logan and I was positive that Tris was just going to bury whatever it was he was feeling. I figured he was doing alright with it. But I should have been paying better attention. I'm sorry Love."

"I'm fine. I just wish that I had seen it coming as well. Hopefully we can get back what we had though. I just need to give him some time. But I wish that didn't translate into him spending every minute with those two." Rory added. Finn nodded.

"I'll have a chat to him. See if there's anything I can do to remedy that." Rory smiled at him. He really was a different person to who she had originally thought.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, thinking of something that had been bugging her for over a month, as they made their way to a table, tray's in hand.

"Boxers." Finn replied matter-of-factly, smirking.

"What?" she was genuinely confused by his response.

"You weren't going to ask if I prefer boxers or briefs?"

"No." Rory laughed. At least he made an effort to make her feel the way she had with Tristan. That was comforting. "I was going to ask why you were so... distant the day I met Logan. You wouldn't look at me; you barely spoke the whole time. I guess I just want to know what you were thinking." Finn sighed as he thought back on the day. "Was it me?" Rory continued, once again concerned of the impression she had made. "Did I do something to annoy you?"

"No Rory. It wasn't you. I just... They're my mates and I'd do just about anything for them. There was a time when we were practically inseparable. But when Logan and Colin came home, and I saw you, Lane and Tristan, I just thought, 'here we go again. Logan's going to be at it once more.' I didn't want to be there when you met him. I didn't want you to meet him at all, because I thought he would just use you for his fun, and move on to the next girl. But Col saw Tristan and then I couldn't stop it."

"He's not using me though." Rory replied uncertainly. At least, she hoped he wasn't.

"I know. And I'm very glad about it. But it didn't occur to me at the time that he would have changed. This is the first time I can remember that he's actually been serious about a girl. In a way, I think you might even be his first girlfriend." Finn added, smiling at the thought.

"You're kidding." As he shook his head, Rory laughed, at least she and Logan had one thing in common. "What about you?"

"Well, you can't be my girlfriend. Not while you're dating Logan anyway."

"No, I mean, have you had girlfriends? Or do you just randomly date? Coz, I know Tristan and Summer were together for a couple of weeks, but I have no idea if that was, like, exclusive. We never really talked about her."

"No." Finn answered simply, confusing Rory.

"No?" she asked. "Could you elaborate?"

"No I haven't had a girlfriend. And no they weren't exclusive. Tristan's never had a girlfriend either, as far as I know."

"Wow. I never thought I'd beat the two of you at something. I figured I'd be the last person I knew to do just about everything." Rory mused, talking more to herself then Finn.

"Well you know, if you ever need a hand reaching certain other milestones before, say, I don't know, Paris, give me a call. I'd be happy to help you out." Finn replied. Rory panicked for just a second. But then as she ran his comment through her mind, scanning for any indications that she should be suspicious, she found nothing and relaxed. This was not going to be a repeat of what had happened with Tristan. Surely, that wouldn't ever happen again.

"Thanks." She replied, trying for nonchalance, and wishing that people would stop saying such confusing things to her. "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

"That's it." Rory announced. Standing up off the couch as the front door closed and her husband appeared in the doorway of the living room.

"That's it?" Emma asked confused.

"How can that be it?" Lo demanded. "You didn't tell us anything!"

"That's it for now, because as you can see," Rory replied, wrapping an arm around her husband. "Your father is home and it's time to get ready for dinner with grandma. Come on, you don't want us to be late do you?" she asked, as they got up looking at her as if she had taken away their coffee, at least that's how Lo looked at her. Em was still not allowed the nectar of the Goddesses.

"You know, we could afford to be late just this once." He replied, playing devil's advocate. "Lorelai never manages to have anything ready when she says she will."

"Yeah, I'm with dad. Can we keep going for a little while?" Lo added, giving her father a big smile.

"Please Mommy?" Rory looked at the two pleading faces and grimaced. She was just like her mother when it came to the 'Rory face' which she could see double of right now. It was very difficult to say no to.

"Alright, just a little more." She relented. Taking her seat again as the other three made themselves comfortable once again.

* * *

Within four weeks, Rory would be attending another Chilton dance. Her junior prom and Logan's senior prom at Andale were right around the corner.

It amazed her how many dances her school put on, in the short time she'd been there, there had been the winter formal, three fundraising socials, and now the two proms, to finish out the year. And she hadn't even been there for a full school year yet.

Logan would be graduating after the prom, and then heading off to Yale. He'd always said that when he finished high school, it would take a miracle for him to be accepted anywhere other than a community college. But Rory knew that he was smarter than that, and plus, being the son of a Yale alumnus had to have some bearing on whether or not he would receive the quality of education to which his family was accustomed.

She'd been right. Mitchum had pulled all sorts of strings in order to have his son accepted to his Alma mater, but in the end, it had all worked out and Logan would be starting school in New Haven come fall semester.

Two proms meant dress shopping, which both Rory and Lorelai were very excited about, but before the dance, was the annual bid-a-basket festival.

Rory always loved the tradition of making up a basket for someone to bid on, and spending an afternoon with them. When she was younger, she and her bidder would join her mom and whoever had bought her basket for lunch, and every year, Lorelai managed to gain something out of the day, whether it be a car service or to have a chore around the house, that she didn't want to do, done for her.

Logan wouldn't be able to buy Rory's basket though, because his father had organised yet another tour of the Yale campus. Since securing his son a place at the Ivy League school, Mitchum had been dragging him to New Haven every chance he got to show him things he'd seen many times before, and would most likely see a lot more of.

Rory didn't mind though. She always had a good time and didn't really mind who bought the lunch she would pack As long as it wasn't Kirk. She was still trying to forget the year she'd dined with him.

At the festival, while Rory watched Lane's cousin buy her basket, as a decoy for another secret date with Henry, she was oblivious to the three men preparing to bid for her mom's basket. Or, for that matter, the three there to bid for her own.

When it came time for Rory's she waited excited to see how the bidding war would turn out. To her surprise Tristan was the first to raise his hand and offer the amount of money Taylor had asked for. Moments later Jess was putting forward more money, and then she laughed to herself as Finn stepped forward when fifteen dollars was proposed.

Finn's presence wasn't too much of a surprise, she'd been telling him about the festival for the last few weeks, but he hadn't told her he would be there. Tristan hadn't spoken to her much since returning to school from a suspension. And Jess had never even been to a town meeting. So their attendance at this event had her completely floored.

As the three boys continued to up the price of her tiny basket, Rory was torn over who she wanted to win the privilege of lunch with her. On one hand, she enjoyed spending time with Finn, and one more meal with him would be a pleasure. However, the chance to have a real conversation with Tristan after all the time they had spent apart was something she would definitely not pass up, given the chance. But Jess... She wasn't mad at him anymore. Just confused. He hadn't been very nice when she'd told him she was dating Logan, and they hadn't had much contact since then, besides her giving him her order for a meal. But maybe if she could get him alone... _And now I have three hands,_ she thought.

She stopped, realising she was getting ahead of herself. Tristan and Finn both probably had a lot more money than Jess, and so he would most likely be knocked out of the competition soon. Besides, he was probably just bored and wanted to stir up a little trouble.

"Do I hear fifty dollars?" Taylor asked, and Rory waited to see who would answer first. Fifty was usually the cut off point with these things.

"Sixty." Jess replied, his jaw set. He looked very determined.

"Sixty-five," Finn added, smirking as he caught Rory's eye.

"Seventy-five," Tristan grinned at his friend, before turning back as Taylor gaped at the three boys.

"Are you gentlemen seeing the size of this thing?" he asked, but neither boy seemed to mind.

"What is going on with those boys?" Lorelai asked, appearing next to her, accompanied with Sookie.

"They looove you." Sookie added in a sing-song voice. Rory winced.

"Ninety." Jess hadn't even waited for the next amount to be raised; he just put forward his bid.

"Am I hearing this correctly?" Taylor asked. "Ninety dollars?" he glanced at the two other boys. They shared a look and then each shrugged. "Okay, we've got ninety going once, ninety dollars going twice... sold to the nice young hoodlum in the back for ninety dollars."

"Wow." Sookie looked riveted by what had just unfolded, but Rory couldn't figure it out. Jess barely spoke to her, and he'd just out-bid two of her friends, totally over paying for her crappy little basket in order to spend an afternoon with her. What was that about?

"I guess that's my cue." She said, watching as Jess took his basket from the stage, while Finn and Tristan made their way over to her.

"Hey Tristan. Long time no see." Lorelai announced, enveloping the boy in a hug.

"Hey Lorelai, how've you been?"

"Well, you know; severely depressed. Without the hot young stud around my house to make me feel desirable, I just don't know what to do with myself." She replied, giving the blonde a dazzling smile.

"What, Logan hasn't been lusting after you?"

"No. It's the weirdest thing; he only has eyes for Rory. I can't figure it out." Lorelai shrugged and he laughed.

"Well, you know Love, I'd be more than happy to come over and give you dreamy looks all day long." Finn spoke up before Tristan had a chance to reply.

"You must be Finn." Was all Lorelai said to him. "You really didn't exaggerate Rory."

"I told you there was no need. Finn doesn't require embellishments." Rory replied, spying Jess hanging back, a few feet away. "Now, I want to find out what the two of you are doing here, but right now I have someone I need to go see. So, try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone, ok?" She added, before heading over to the boy holding her basket. "Ninety dollars? You couldn't just ask me to talk while I was in the diner?"

"I thought it would mean more to you if I did it the same way I did last time." Jess replied as they began to walk away from the festivities. "But, if I knew how much you were worth, I might have gone with the cheaper option."

"Last time?" Rory asked. She looked around and realised where he had led her. "I hope you've got a new speech prepared, because I don't appreciate recycled apologies." Rory explained, sitting on the bridge.

"I just don't.. I don't like guys like that."

"Guys like Logan?" Rory asked, trying to understand him.

"Yeah. Him, and those two other clowns from the auction."

"Finn and Tristan are friends of mine, Logan is my boyfriend. And I've gotta say, you aren't that great at making amends." Jess just looked at her for a moment before Rory continued. "You know, generally when you say sorry, you have to actually utter the words 'I'm sorry.' And insulting my friends really won't win you any brownie points."

"You really like them?" Jess asked, Rory nodded. "And this boyfriend, he's important?"

"He is to me." She replied, trying to work out where he was going with his line of questioning.

"Then in that case, I'm sorry. Again."

"Well, I guess I can forgive you again. Are you hungry?" she asked, pointing to the basket he had placed beside him.

"Starved." He opened the picnic basket and laughed. "You got this from Luke's?" he asked, indicating the burgers and fries inside.

"Well, I can't cook and I didn't want to poison anybody,"

"That's fair enough." He replied, removing the food and handing her a burger. "So where is the boyfriend today? Shouldn't he have been there to outbid me? Or was that why your friends were there, to rescue you from Kirk?"

"He's in New Haven. College tour." She explained. "His dad really wants him to get excited about next year, but all these excursions are doing is making Logan realise how much he'd like to forget about college."

"He doesn't want to go?" Jess sounded surprised.

"No. I can't figure it out though. I've wanted to go to Harvard since I was a kid, but for just about the same amount of time, he's been against the idea."

"I'd love to take his place. But there's no way that'll ever happen."

"You're smart. I'm sure you could-"

"If I had a time machine and went back so I actually attended all of my classes, and then I robbed a bank so I could pay for the tuition, then sure, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, I'm sure they'd all be begging me to go. But since neither of those things are going to happen, I guess, I'll be one of those people that never amounts to anything. That's what everyone's expecting of me anyway."

"That's not true."

"We've had this conversation once before. Remember? China, guarding daughters? No one thinks anything good about me. But it doesn't matter."

"So... Time for a subject change." Rory announced after swallowing her food. "What did you think of The Fountainhead?" She asked, picking one of her favourite books.

"I've yet to make it through the political ramblings of Rand."

"She's a genius. No one could write a forty page monologue like she could." Rory argued.

"That may be true, but she's also a nut."

"Ok, fine. Who do you like?" Rory asked. Jess was silent for a moment and Rory glanced up at him, but he looked away.

"Hemingway." He eventually replied.

"Are you serious?" Rory demanded, she couldn't stand the man.

* * *

"We basically spent the afternoon arguing about authors and then I went home to spend some time with my friends before calling my boyfriend." Rory concluded, looking at the clock. "And we are officially late. Up, we've gotta get ready." She ordered as Lo moved off the couch running everything she'd been told through her head.

She knew exactly which one of the boys in her mother's story was her father.

* * *

**AN: And I'm sure you all know too. But I'm going to be really mean and not say a word until Rory actually says his name next chapter. God, you hate me don't you? Anyways, thanks for reading. Rveiew!**


	11. Washington Square Park

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Thanks for your reviews: Alenor, Curley-Q, jessirose85, JIBBSFOREVER, JoPoGirlsKickAss, Midnight-Gypsy101, mittoots79, nuttzZ1, Storygirl21, Texas' Sweetheart (hope you're better now), That Don't Make me a Bad Guy. And to the awesome Lizzy likes the hot guy - she's the only one who actually told me their guess this time around and we have a winner! So I am now sending imaginary cookies, they probably don't taste too good though. Sorry. And to Kassandra27 for her help.**

**I'll get out of your way, so you can finally find out who "Dad" is.**

**

* * *

**

Later that night, Rory sat at her vanity applying lotion to her hands and face as her husband went about removing excess pillows and cushions from their bed. Every night she did it, she was reminded of her mother and grandmother doing the same, it always gave her a nice feeling.

"So tomorrow, huh?" he asked, and she turned in her seat.

"Yeah, tomorrow. Are you ok with that?"

"I knew it would happen eventually. It's something that I have to face up to. It was my mistake."

"Everything is going to be ok. You know that right?" She asked, coming over to sit on the bed and pulled him down beside her. "They'll understand."

"How can you be so sure of that?" he knew that he had done things in the past, that would colour the way his girls looked at him. Once his identity in Rory's story was revealed, he was certain everything would change, no matter what Rory said to him now.

"Because those girls love you, and they know that you love them. I promise this will be ok." She told him as he looked at her uncertainly.

"If you say so,"

* * *

"I know who you are." Lo told her father the next morning as he moved around the kitchen preparing breakfast.

He and Lo were early risers, whereas Em and Rory tended to sleep in, especially on weekends.

"How many years did it take you to figure that out?" he responded, earning an eye roll.

"I meant in mom's story. I figured it out last night, but I didn't want to say anything. Mom's having so much fun telling us everything I thought I'd just wait until she reveals it herself."

"That's very considerate."

"I know. I'm completely selfless."

"Well I wouldn't say completely…"

"Dad! How can you be so mean to me?" Lo demanded, applying a hurt look as he came around to her side of the kitchen counter to give her a hug.

"I'm only kidding. You know I love you right?" he asked and she looked up at him. '_That was strange, usually he would just say I love you, not ask me if I knew_.'

"Of course I know that." She replied, confused.

"Good."

Rory came into the kitchen, yawning as she made her way over to pick up the cup of coffee that had been made for her.

The three exchanged greetings and Rory had started in on her second coffee before Emma arrived in the kitchen just as breakfast was being served up.

* * *

Rory and Lorelai sat in the diner, enjoying a late breakfast, because Rory's morning classes had been cancelled due to some sort of teacher conference. Lorelai was playing hooky from the Independence Inn for the morning in order to spend that little extra time with her daughter before driving her to school.

As they sat eating their pancakes, the door flew open and Luke stormed inside, barking an order at Caesar, who had been working alone since the two girls had arrived. Luke then proceeded to stomp up the stairs to his apartment, and everyone in the diner sat completely still as they listened to the door upstairs slam shut, and Luke begin to yell.

It was hard to hear through the floor, but everyone pretty much got the gist of the argument going on above their heads as certain words floated though the ceiling. Words like Wal-Mart, and blue vest, were followed by a little quiet before Jess yelled "I am not going back to school!"

Rory's eyes darted towards her mother and they silently waited to hear Luke's response, but because he didn't yell it, they heard nothing. Then there was more stomping as one of them came down the stairs and Jess took off out the front door, leaving everyone stunned. Luke appeared moments later to take some orders, but everyone could see that he wasn't concentrating on his job like he usually did.

"Mom, we have to go." Rory reluctantly whispered across the table, a few minutes later.

"Now? Can't we just… I really feel like I should go and talk to Luke first."

"I know. But I have to get to school and I don't think that he's going to want to talk right now anyway. I've never seen him that mad before." Rory replied, deciding not to focus on how anxious her mother looked in that moment. It was probably just friendly concern anyway.

"Ok, let's go. I guess I can come back at lunch and see if he's calmed down." She replied, placing some money on the table before they stood to leave. As they drove out of town, headed towards Hartford, Rory found herself staring out the window trying to locate Jess, but he was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Worrying about Jess and Luke was put on hold – at least for Rory – as she prepared herself for prom. Logan's was first. She'd bought just the one dress, because she figured that he was the only one who would see her at both dances, and he wouldn't make fun of her for wearing the same thing twice. Plus, she didn't really see the point in shelling out the money for two dresses she would only wear once, when she could just get one that she would wear twice. Maybe even a third time, if, for some reason she couldn't find something for her senior prom.

Even though she hadn't actively sought him out, Rory had been thinking of Jess in the days after his big fight with Luke, but she hadn't had the time to find him and see if he was alright.

Just a few days later, she was running around the house trying to get ready before Logan arrived in a limo to take her to his big dance.

"Mom! Where did you put the-"

"Mascara, in your bathroom. Just relax, I'll get it. You don't want to trip and ruin your pretty dress do you?" Lorelai responded, as she came out of Rory's bathroom and handed her the tube she'd been looking for.

"Of course I don't want to ruin it. I'm just nervous."

"Calm down. You look gorgeous; Logan won't be able to take his eyes off of you all night."

"Thanks. But that doesn't really help with my nerves. The idea of him staring at me all night is freaking me out even more."

"Just take it easy. You've still got heaps of time to get ready and when he does get here, I'll tell him not to stare too much, if that'll make you feel better."

"It definitely would. Thank you."

"Good. Now you finish getting dressed and I'll put another roll of film in the camera."

"Come on mom. How many pictures do you need of this?" Rory whined. Lorelai had been taking pictures all day from the first coffee, right up until this moment.

"Oh, I'd say about four thousand more. Now smile." Lorelai held up the camera and took a picture of Rory scowling.

* * *

Rory handed a photo of herself, in a pale blue, floor length dress, to her daughters. She had her hair down, and her mom had done her make-up. Even though she had been extremely nervous before he arrived, as soon as she'd seen Logan she'd felt much better.

Rory looked across the room to where her husband had been sitting just a few minutes before. He'd left the room silently, but she understood why. This next thing she had to say, it wasn't exactly his finest moment.

"Mom?" Rory shook herself out of her thoughts as her daughters looked at her quizzically. "Where'd you go just now?"

"I um… nowhere. Sorry, where was I?"

"Going to prom."

"Right, so, we had a great night. He hadn't been at the school too long, but Logan was the kind of person who everyone wanted to be around and he had a lot of friends. I didn't go to the diner the next morning though, mom wouldn't let me. It had been happening for a few days actually. She would get up early and bring home breakfast, and instead of going there for lunch and dinner she would suggest pizza, Al's, the Inn and even going to Sookie's. After a while I started to get suspicious and finally I asked her what was going on.

"She told me that she'd gone back the day we'd overheard the argument. Luke had still been in a really bad mood. After a few hours of him ranting and kicking things in the kitchen, she finally got him to calm down enough to explain that Jess was gone. Your... dad had left town." Rory said finally admitting that Jess was the father to the girls.

"Daddy!" Em cheered, subconsciously knowing that she now knew who her dad was in the story, focusing more on that, than what her mother had just said about him.

"He left?" Charlotte demanded, her eyes flashing with an anger Rory hadn't seen since she was a teenager. She was so similar to her father it was scary at times.

"Where did he go?" Emma asked, not fully understanding what those words meant.

"He went back to New York. Lo, honey? Charlotte, look at me." She slowly turned her head and Rory had to shift backwards under the intensity of her gaze. "He was angry with the world. He didn't have any obligations to me; he had every right to go."

"Did you love him?" Rory nodded, she hadn't been fully aware of it at the time, but she worked out later that she had loved Jess, pretty much from the moment she met him. "He should have known that, and he should have stayed with you. How could he leave?"

Rory rubbed her eyes tiredly and looked at her youngest daughter. "Em, why don't you go call grandma, ok sweetie? See if she can come over and play for a bit?"

Jess stood in the doorway as Emma slowly made her way to the kitchen to use that phone. She knew that right now she needed to be somewhere away from what was about to happen.

"I just need you to explain it to me." Lo begged. She had always loved her father more than anyone else in her world. He was her best friend. But this new information seemed to have shattered everything she had ever believed about him. How was she supposed to trust him now?

"Sweetie-"

"Don't make excuses for me Ror. It's ok." Jess cut in, walking further into the room, to crouch down in front of his daughter. "I wasn't happy then, like your mom said. I'd stopped going to school and I was working full-time. The only thing I was focused on was getting out of this town. When Grandpa Luke found out, he told me to quit my job and repeat the school year. I refused and he said I had to leave. So I did."

Lo didn't say a word. She was so confused, and didn't trust herself to speak.

"I know that I shouldn't have done it. But I didn't see any alternative at the time. The only person I cared about was happy with her boyfriend who had money and a plan for his life. He was going to college, one of the best, and I wasn't even going to graduate high school. I didn't see the point in hanging around, there didn't seem to be anything there for me. But when I left Stars Hollow that time, I left the one person in the world who believed in me."

"That time? You left her more than once?"

"Hon-"

"No. Forget that. I don't want to know. I just have to ask one more thing. When you found out she was pregnant with me, did you leave then? Or Emma?"

"No. I have never left you girls. I swear." He replied, firmly. "I admit that I hurt your mother, and I broke her heart, but she knows how incredibly sorry I am for everything I ever did to her in the past, and I have spent every day of our marriage trying to make up for my mistakes. The one thing that you need to remember is that the three of you, and your baby brother, that we are all anxiously waiting to meet, are the only people in the world that mean everything to me. I love you more than you will ever know."

"I used to think the same thing about you. Now I just... I don't know anymore." Lo pushed passed her father and walked out the front door just as Lorelai pulled up. Without a word to her grandmother she took off running down the street, not wanting to speak to anyone who may have been keeping this information from her.

* * *

"Mom?" Lo gently shook her mother awake, after three days of not speaking to anyone but her little sister. In her mind, everyone had lied; Emma was the only one who she could trust.

"Honey what's wrong?" Rory asked as Jess' eyes opened slowly.

"I need to know what happened."

"I don't... What's going on? What happened?"

"With dad." She explained, looking at him as he sat up. "I need to know what happened and why you're together now."

"What time is it?"

"It's early. But does that really matter?"

"No I guess not." Rory sat up and took Lo's hand in her own as Jess climbed out of the bed and left the room. This was Rory's story to tell, he would let her explain it and only get involved when needed.

"So, after he left, I was really upset. I mean, I didn't realize it at that moment but I was in love with this boy and all of a sudden he had just vanished from my life. I didn't know how to deal with that and my mom and my friends couldn't really help me too much either.

"Until one day when I got to school and Paris was yammering away about something, I wasn't listening to her. Finn could see that I was totally out of it, not hearing a word that Paris was saying. He walked over, grabbed my arm and steered me out of the courtyard to the parking lot and maneuvered me into his car. That was the first time I let myself cry. He just sat across from me for a few minutes, not saying anything. I didn't know what to say either, because I didn't know what I was feeling. Then, when I managed to compose myself he started up the engine and asked where to. 'New York,' I said. 'Washington Square Park.'

"He probably expected me to say I wanted to see Logan, but he didn't object even though he knew what I wanted by going to New York. We drove in silence all the way there and then I just got out, left him parked on the street and went looking for your dad. He was sitting on a park bench reading, like I knew he would be. I walked over to him and said hey."

"'Hey'?" Lo asked, astounded. "You said 'hey'?"

"Yeah. I did."

* * *

"Rory? What are you doing here?" Jess asked, amazed that she was standing in front of him.

"Just thought I'd come, check out this park you were always talking about. I wanted to see if it really was better than our gazebo."

"And have you decided?"

"Not yet. It might take me awhile."

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" he asked, taking in her uniform.

"Well I could ask you the same thing."

"Except that I dropped out. Last time I saw you, you were planning on going to college, and I'm guessing the uniform isn't just a bold fashion choice. You shouldn't be taking days off to check out parks." He reprimanded her.

"I've been excused for the day." She simply told him, before finally sitting down. She was silent for a moment, looking at her hands. She didn't know why she was there; she didn't understand any of this.

"You hungry?" he asked her after a moment.

"Starved."

"I know a place."

They made their way to a hot dog stand while Rory ignored her phone vibrating in her pocket. As they took their food she removed her phone to find a message from Finn.

'Gone to see a friend, call me when you're done.' She smiled and replaced her phone, as Jess began explaining about a record store he thought she should see. They spent the day walking around the city and Rory reluctantly answered one of Finn's calls after a few hours and about ten missed calls each from him, Logan and her mom.

"Why'd you come here?" Jess asked her as they made their way back towards the entrance of Washington Square Park.

"Luke misses you. I- I think he misses you." She wished she had the strength to tell him what she really wanted to say. But she just couldn't do that.

"Has he actually told anybody this?"

"No. But I've known him a long time. Sometimes you just pick up on these things. And even if he can't say it, I know it's true. You should come home."

"This is my home." Jess replied, gesturing around him. It was nice to be somewhere, where everyone didn't know your name for a change. "And I'm sorry he feels that way, but I couldn't stay there."

"No. Stars Hollow. You should come back to Stars Hollow." Rory tried again. Why couldn't people understand the things she was unable to say? That would make her life so much easier.

"Why?"

"Because, Luke-"

"Luke's a big boy, he'll survive without me." Jess cut her off, and she decided to give up. He wouldn't change his mind. Not for her, anyway.

"You're right, I guess, but…"

"But what?" Jess asked when she didn't finish her thought.

"Couldn't you have said goodbye?"

"Rory? There you are Love." Finn called out as he made his way over. "I've been dodging your mother's calls all day, but she's left some pretty threatening voicemails. Turns out that the school called and she knows that neither of us showed up today, so naturally I'm to blame. I really think we should be getting back, because there is nothing I'd like less than to be on the receiving end of some of the things she said she would do to me. I'm really not looking forward to her finding out I drove her underage daughter over state lines." He added, shaking his head with worry.

"Sure Finn. Just a sec, ok?" she took Jess' hand and pulled him away from her friend.

"Bye Rory." She bit her lip as he said that. She didn't want him to say it, but he had, so now she had no reason to stay.

"Bye Jess." She didn't move and neither did he. She could tell Finn was getting anxious. Even though he and Lorelai got on well, and he'd even managed to get the Daisy Duke story out of her, including her dressing up in the outfit once more in order for him to get a photo, she was still a mother, and could really turn on the intimidation factor.

Rory and Jess stood watching each other for a few moments and then, without much thought as to what it could eventually mean for her relationship with Logan; or any of her relationships for that matter, Rory shot forward and kissed Jess. He had just enough time to reach up and cup her face before she pulled away and ran the few feet to Finn, who, once again asked no questions as they made their way to his car.

* * *

"The drive home wasn't as quiet as the one out of town, but still, Finn was amazing. He didn't ask why we'd gone there, and he didn't say anything about the kiss or Logan, he just told me about his friend Shaun that he'd gone to see and asked what I'd been doing all day. When we got back to my place, he gave me a hug, asked if I'd be alright and when I assured him that I was fine, he drove home to face his parents, while I headed inside to see your grandma."

"Was she mad?" Lo asked, certain that she already knew the answer.

"Livid. She knew that I'd been a little off, but she couldn't figure out how road-tripping to New York while I was supposed to be in school would help. She didn't realize how much Jess meant to me, I guess, well I know that I didn't either, but she couldn't understand at all."

"Cause you were dating Logan. You were supposed to be in love him, weren't you?"

"Well, not supposed to. But things probably would have been easier at that point if my feelings for him were stronger, but I just couldn't make myself like him more than I did, and unfortunately for him that was just a notch above friendship at that point."

"Too bad you didn't figure that out beforehand. You could have saved dad the trouble of going back to New York." Lo remarked.

"I'm glad that I didn't, actually."

"Why?"

"Your dad thinks that we wasted time, and I know that in a way he's right, but also, I think that if we had gotten together right then we wouldn't have been the same. I don't think either of us was ready for how we were feeling. The time we spent apart was good for both of us. It allowed us to grow."

"So the story doesn't end here then?"

"No. There's more to it, but I would understand if you don't want to hear anymore."

Lo shook her head. "I want you to finish. I need to understand how that boy who didn't let anyone in, could become the man that has so much love for his family. I recognized certain things in him while you were telling the story but I wasn't sure until the bid-a-basket auction."

"You figured it out then?" Rory asked, smiling.

"Are you kidding? The ninety dollar basket with burgers and fries? Sitting at the bridge arguing over Rand and Hemingway? You guys do the same thing every year. Granted, you have more authors to disagree about these days, but for years when I was little I would sit, fascinated by the two of you as you'd squabble back and forth." Lo replied, she always loved that day when they would go out and have a picnic there. "I just want to connect them in my head, so that I know that dad is who I always thought he was."

"He is, Charlotte. Trust me."

"I do. But I need to hear it all, so I can be sure. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course. We'll go have breakfast and continue on the way to school."

"Do I have to go to school today? I mean, I just don't think I'll be able to concentrate with all the thoughts in my head. I barely heard a word anyone said to me the last couple of days anyway. And besides," she continued, before Rory could argue. "You cut school because of dad when you were my age, so I'm just trying to help you out here, you don't want to be one of those hypocritical parents do you?"

"You mean like the ones that tell you that you can never have sex, so you don't become a teen mother, especially when you were conceived while they were only sixteen?" Rory asked with a hint of a smile.

"Yeah, like those."

"Alright. Fine, just today. But tomorrow you're going, no matter what."

* * *

**AN: There you have it. It's Jess, and I know there were some of you really hoping it would be, and some praying it was anyone but him. But when this story came to me, he was my first choice, then I wasn't sure, so I asked Kassandra27, and we agreed Jess was perfect. I hope nobody wants to kill me, coz I'd really like to get to 21 before that happens. Rview!**


	12. Prom Night For A Princess And He's Back

AN: I'm in a bad mood. I've lost my USB stick and my laptop is being an ass. So today's not a good day and I haven't even been to work yet. Anyway, that's not your falt, so I'll shut up and let you read. Reveiw responses are at the bottom. Thankyou all

Disclaimer: I don't own anything mentioned within this document.

* * *

"You've probably been having a little trouble picturing uncle Tristan, right?" Rory asked the two girls as they walked around the town. She felt like getting some fresh air - if they happened to walk in the direction of Jess' publishing house / bookstore, well that would just be a bonus. "Because the boy I've been telling you about is very different to the man you grew up with. The reason for that is… Well, I guess it's my fault. Or he has me to thank. Depends how you look at it. But basically, towards the end of the year, when your dad had left and Logan was preparing for graduation, we still weren't on the best terms. I wanted us to be friends again and his showing up at the basket auction made me think he wanted the same thing. But it wasn't that easy, we still had a couple of obstacles in our way."

* * *

Tristan had been spending a little more time with Rory and Finn, which she was very relieved about, but he hadn't cut all ties with Duncan and Bowman.

Rather than risk losing him again by telling him to dump the losers, Rory let it rest, thinking he would work out in his own time. Because of them, he had been suspended from school three times, so she was hoping it wouldn't take long for him to come to his senses.

She had no idea he would need to get himself arrested in order to reach that conclusion though.

"We started without you." Rory announced into the phone. "What's taking you so long anyway? Did you miss Monty again? He's really big; I don't know how you and Finn never see him." She commented as the very boy she'd just mentioned came through the door, carrying bags from Luke's to feed them during their movie night.

"No, I didn't miss Monty. I just called to tell you I won't be able to make it tonight."

"Why? What's wrong?" she asked, sitting up straight, worry coursing through her at his tone.

"I, um, I screwed up. And you're not going to see me for awhile." He replied slowly. She didn't know why, but Rory felt tears spring to her eyes. He was scaring her.

"What's happened Tristan?" she demanded. Lane and Finn both turned to her, concern etched on each of their faces.

"Bowman-"

"I knew I should have stopped you from hanging around those guys." Rory interrupted before he could explain.

"Even if you'd tried, I wouldn't have listened, you know that." He told her and she nodded despite the fact that he couldn't see her. "Anyway we, ah, we broke into Bowman's dad's safe. And the stupid silent alarm went off. The police are letting our parents handle our punishment, since we're minors and nothing was stolen. And in my case, that means military school in North Carolina."

"M-military school?" Rory repeated. She really hated his parents at times. "When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"I want to come see you." She declared. "We'll all come right now." She stood up.

"No. Don't do that, they won't let you in. I just wanted you to hear it from me before the gossips at school have me robbing a bank or something. But Mary, listen to me ok?" Rory smiled at the nickname he'd given her. It had ceased to annoy her somehow.

"I'm listening."

"You gotta look after Finn for me ok?" he asked and she laughed. "I'm serious. With me gone he'll wanna throw himself off a roof or something, but you've gotta keep him grounded. Remind him it's not too long til summer, and he'll be surfing at Bondi in no time."

"Yeah ok, I'll tell him. But did you want to talk to him? You know how he gets when he thinks people aren't paying attention to him." Rory replied, smiling at her friend, perched on the arm of the couch.

"You're right. I should make sure he knows I still love him. But remember, I'll be back. And you are going to have so much trouble trying to resist my hot military man body." Rory laughed again. She could tell he was joking and it felt so good to be able to laugh like that again.

"I'll start working on that in the morning, so I'm fully prepared for your homecoming. Finn's getting antsy so I'll pass you over to him now. Just try not to get into any more trouble, ok? I'll miss you Tristan."

"I'll miss you too Ror." He replied before she handed the phone to Finn, and Lane enveloped her in a hug.

* * *

"I didn't see him for a year after that. And it really wasn't fair, because I'd had no idea that the last time I saw him would be the last time. But things were better when he came home."

"What happened in that year?" Lo asked, opening the door to the building in which her father's business was housed.

"I'll tell you all of that. I'm not just going to skip it."

"But who was left?" Emma asked. "Daddy was gone. Uncle Tristan had to go away, were you by yourself?"

"No sweetie. I had grandma, Aunt Lane and Paris, Uncle Finn and everyone else in this town to keep me company."

"Good. I wouldn't want you to be alone."

"So I'm a little confused about something. " Lo began as they headed through the offices and Emma disappeared to the kids area created just for her. "You never talk about Logan. I know of the Huntzberger's, but you haven't mentioned Logan before this... 'rehashing of your romantic life'." She explained as they let themselves into Jess' office. "Did you have a really bad break-up or something?"

Rory thought for a moment. Why didn't she ever talk about Logan? She was still really close to two of his friends, but his name hadn't come up in the longest time. "No. Not really bad. We didn't part on the best terms, but we eventually built a friendship out of what we'd had. I guess we just drifted apart though. He and your dad never got on. They tried for me, but it didn't work out."

"So it wasn't because of the kiss?" Rory shook her head he wasn't out of her life now because of that.

* * *

"I have to tell him don't I?" Rory asked Finn as they made their way out of their last class for the day.

It was Monday, the week of prom. In four days, their entire class would be dressed to the nines, trying to outdo everyone else in an attempt to get the best-looking prom picture.

"Contrary to your beliefs, I cannot hear the conversations in your head Kitten." Finn informed her, an amused smile in place.

"Right, sorry. I was just thinking about Logan, and New York. I should tell him about the kiss right? That's what a good girlfriend would do."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that a good girlfriend wouldn't go kissing boys who weren't her boyfriend. But you know I've never been a good girlfriend, that's just what I hear."

"I'm serious Finn!" She moaned, "should I tell Logan or not?"

"I don't think you should. Not if it didn't mean anything." Rory bit her lip, nodding slowly. "Did it mean something?" she continued to nod and Finn sighed. "In that case, he needs to know. Sooner, rather than later, I'd say."

"Right. You're right. Ok. Could you drive me over to his house? I should do this now before I lose my nerve."

"Of course Rory. Just think of me as your faithful taxi service." Finn replied, swinging an arm around her shoulders as they walked outside.

* * *

She stood outside Logan's bedroom door, afraid to knock. The first time she'd been in his house was to meet his parents, after his grounding was revoked and they'd been spotted out and about by Richard.

That had inspired a series of meetings and meals and now Rory was a little more comfortable within the Huntzberger mansion.

Until today. Today she had to tell Logan what she had done.

Finally working up the courage to knock, Rory took a deep breath and let herself in, once Logan called out for her to do so.

"Hey Ace, what are you doing here?" he asked surprised, standing up to greet her.

"I have to tell you something… something that I did and I know you aren't going to like it, but I've been wrestling with it for a while and you deserve to know what it is that I did."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down. What's going on?" he asked, leading her to his desk chair.

"Well, it was two things. And, actually the first one wasn't really me. You might already know about it, but you haven't mentioned anything which leads me to believe that he never told you."

"He who? You're not making any sense."

"I kissed Tristan. Or, well, no. He kissed me, when he was drunk at Jenna Alves' party. That was all though. One kiss and then Finn took him home to sleep it off."

Logan was silent as he processed her words. "Ok. So what was the second thing?" he eventually asked.

"You're not mad? About Tristan?"

"No. You said he was drunk and _he _kissed _you_. I'm not mad at you."

"Oh. '_I'm not mad at you… Well you will be soon.'_

"So what else happened?"

"I kissed Jess."

"Another drunk at the party?" he asked with a chuckle as Rory stood up and started to pace.

"When Finn and I skipped school, we went to New York to see Luke's nephew Jess. I spent the day with him, and just before we left, I kissed him."

"No alcohol involved this time, I'm assuming?" Logan asked his voice void of all humour.

"Not for me. And I'm pretty sure he was sober."

Logan nodded as he sunk down onto his bed. "So, do you like him, this Josh guy?"

"Jess."

"Yes?"

"No. I said 'Jess' His name is…"

"But do you-"

"I don't know. It's not like it matters anyway. He's in New York and he made it pretty clear that he doesn't have any plans to come back."

"That's not what I asked. Do _you_ like _him_?"

Rory bit her lip. She knew this was going to happen. Even if he hadn't been angry about Tristan - which was an honest mistake – he was defiantly going to be upset about Jess. But having to answer this question was the really hard part as far as Rory was concerned.

"I like you. I'm dating you."

"As nice as that is to hear, I'd like an answer to my question."

"I… I'm sorry Logan." Rory finally replied with a small nod.

"You should go. I need to be… somewhere."

"Logan , can I just-"

"I don't have time right now Rory. Can you just go?" he asked, standing up and opening the door for her. She slowly walked out into the hallway before Logan closed the door behind her.

* * *

"That's not the face of a girl whose boyfriend just forgave her." Finn commented as Rory climbed into the passenger seat.

"How about the face of a girl whose boyfriend hates her, and very possibly just dumped her?" she suggested, doing up her seatbelt.

"Yeah, I'd say that's about right. I'm sorry Love."

"No, it's ok. I like him, but it hadn't gone so far yet that I could hear it."

"Hear what?" Finn asked, trying to follow her rambling.

"Logan and I saying I love you." Rory explained and he raised his eyebrows at her. "I've never been able to hear it, but I always figured that if it was going to happen, I'd hear it already."

"And you've never heard this with anyone?"

"Logan's the first guy I've gone out with, aside from that bizarre date with Tristan. Who else would I hear it with?" Rory asked confused.

"Oh, I dunno." He replied, dismissively. "Never mind." He told her, steering his car through the streets.

* * *

"So, was it really over?" Lo asked as Rory paused in her narrative.

"Yeah. After awhile we started talking again and we tried to be friends. It worked for a bit, but as you can see, it didn't last." Jess entered the room and put some things on his desk. "Hey." He leaned down to kiss her and Lo turned away.

Not because she was disgusted like most kids her age would be. She loved to watch her parents together, they always gave her this feeling of hope, after so many years together, they were still so in love. She turned away to afford them that moment of privacy.

"What are we up to?" he asked, resting on the edge of his desk.

"Mom thinks she just got dumped." Lo replied, looking up at him. She had been so angry with him, but she couldn't see why. Ok, yes, she remembered what had set her off, but he still looked like the man she wanted to be like when she grew up. He still sounded like the level-headed man who had raised her. He was still her dad, he was just human, she realised.

"Right, well, I'd say sorry, but… Yeah I never liked him. And besides-"

"I kissed you." Rory finished for him. They had discussed these things many times over the years. "Yes, I know. Nobody asked you to apologize."

"This time," he muttered.

"Oh! Would you just shut up?" Rory asked, throwing a pen at him.

"Excuse me, but this is my office. And in case you've forgotten, I also own the building-"

"Co-own!" Rory yelled over the top of him.

"- so maybe you should be the one shutting up." Jess finished, flinging a handful of paper clips in her direction.

"Guys! As much fun as property damage is, wouldn't it make more sense to destroy something that belongs to someone else?" Lo asked, causing both of her parents to look at her; Jess pausing in his efforts to tickle his wife. "Besides, I want to hear more of the story."

"Fine, I'll go see if I can get some work done in Matt's office then." He huffed, picking up his things once more. "Don't worry about taking my space or anything." He called over his shoulder as Lo kicked the door shut behind him

"I figured since he didn't want to answer any of my calls the next day that we were in fact done." Rory continued once they had composed themselves. "So there I was, less than a week away from prom, and without a date. I didn't care that much though. I was more concerned with having hurt Logan. And so I decided to put my dress away, and forget about my prom.

* * *

Lorelai stood up to answer the door, and moments later called out: "Oh Rory! You have a gentleman caller." Rory twisted in her position on the couch to see Finn standing on the front porch in a tux, holding a corsage.

"Finn? What's going on?" she asked, coming over to stand before him.

"It's prom night Princess; we're going to the ball." He informed her, indicating to the Rolls Royce parked in her driveway.

"But-"

"I was planning on going stag, but I figured my presence could be put to better use by escorting you. Now, chop, chop. This bloke charges by the hour and I'm not made of money."

"I don't-"

"Come on Rory you don't want to keep Prince Charming waiting do you?" Lorelai asked, returning to the entryway. "I've laid your dress out on your bed, and the roller's are heating up, let's go."

"Did you know about this?" she asked as her mother led her back through the house to her bedroom.

"I may or may not have received a phone call, but if I did, then the person on the other end would have had a foreign accent, and no matter how hard you try, I shall never be able to reveal what was said." Lorelai replied, with a mischievous grin as she helped her change.

Rory was ready in record time for a Gilmore, and Finn whistled in appreciation as Lorelai presented her. They posed quickly for a few photos and headed off to the dance, while she continued to ask what was going on. Finn just laughed every time she attempted to ask a question.

"I can't believe you did this." Rory marvelled as they drove towards the outskirts of town, headed for Hartford.

"Well, I knew that you wanted to go to this dance and be with your friends. And that whole thing with Logan kind of stuffed up the plans that you had." He told her. She'd been getting along better with Paris, which meant that Louise and Madeline were even nicer to her than before, and she had really been looking forward to spending some time with them.

"Thank you Finn." She replied sincerely.

* * *

"The Chilton junior prom was decorated in blues and silvers, and when we arrived I waited for someone to comment on the two of us together. No one said a thing, which I thought was great. When I was dating Logan people seemed more interested in me, but I knew that was only because of him.

"Finn was an excellent date. He made me laugh all night long, and even managed to stay focussed on me most of the time, only disappearing with another girl for a few minutes. By the time I got home, my head was spinning, but I was so happy he had taken me. Finn made it a great night.

Rory stopped and Lo studied her, waiting for her to say something, anything. "What's wrong Mom? Did something else bad happen? Cause, I promise I won't go all psycho on you and stop speaking again. I know that was a total over-reaction."

"No. It wasn't, you were upset, and it was totally justified. But I was just thinking, you know how I said I wouldn't skip the time that Tristan was gone?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, with him and your dad gone, and Logan and I broken up, there wasn't a lot happening for me."

"Nothing at all?"

"Well, no there was… something. But I don't really want to tell you about my foray into the world of casual dating." Rory explained, waiting for her daughter's reaction to that snippet.

"Huh. Casual dating, like… a couple of different guys? Or casual dating, like an entire football team?"

"Just a couple. It wasn't really that big of a deal."

"Well, ok. I mean, as long as you don't tell me you were benefitting any friends-"

"What?"

"You know, friends with benefits. They mentioned it on that show named after a U2 song. Tree's on a hill?"

"One Tree Hill." Rory corrected "Right, well I can tell you now I definitely wasn't doing any of that."

"Alrighty then. Anything else, I should be able to handle."

"Ok. Good. So, that summer my life wasn't all that interesting. But your grandma's was in full swing. She was engaged and we spent the beginning of vacation planning the wedding."

"This wasn't to grandpa was it?"

"No. You know how dad told you she was with my English teacher?"

"Oh yeah, back when you had us believe that you hadn't met him yet, and he was the first to appear?"

"I thought it would be more fun that way." Rory protested.

"It was, I'm just teasing."

"Ok well, like I said, we planned the wedding and Max was getting ready to move his stuff into the house. This was the week before the nuptials were due to take place by the way.

* * *

Rory was sitting on her bed reading when Lorelai came rushing into the room and started ranting about packing and hitting the road.

"What's going on here? Why are we hitting the road?"

"We haven't taken a road trip in forever and the weather is perfect." Lorelai replied, very excitedly.

"We can't take a road trip. You're getting married this weekend."

"Do you have my blue swimsuit?" she wasn't listening. Rory couldn't figure out why her mother was so focused on leaving.

"What about Max?"

" Sunscreen, we need sunscreen."

"Mom, stop." Rory demanded. Lorelai finally paused in her mental checklist.

"What?"

"Are you and Max getting married?"

"No." She replied, starting to tear up.

"Why?"

"Because I didn't want to try on my wedding dress every night." That was all Rory needed to hear to get into gear. Within minutes she was throwing everything she could get her hands on, into a bag – packing for all contingencies, as there was no plan. By six-thirty the next morning they were on the road.

They'd spent a week away from home, driving to Boston, checking out Harvard, even sneaking into a lecture and some girl's dorm. When they returned to Stars Hollow, all traces of wedding preparations were gone.

The townspeople had been thrilled Lorelai was getting married, but within hours of her departure, Taylor had rallied the troops and they had swept the town clean of anything wedding related.

"I guess all kinds of news travels fast." Lorelai observed, driving through the centre of town. At this point she couldn't be sure if her decision had been a good one or a bad one. She just knew she couldn't go through with that wedding.

"Everybody loves you. They probably just didn't want you to have to deal with all the reminders."

"No. I know. It's good. I just need coffee."

"Tell me something I don't know." Rory replied with a grin. They pulled over outside the diner, and still clad in Harvard paraphernalia, walked inside, as everyone fell silent.

"Did we step in something?" Lorelai whispered, looking around at all the faces, staring at her.

"I think we are the something." Rory replied. "Maybe we should just get our…" she trailed off as Jess came through the curtain.

Luke poked his head out of the kitchen to see why it was so quiet, and the four of them stared at each other as everyone gawked at them.

Lorelai's epiphany to leave her fiancé had occurred after she talked to Luke. They'd had an argument before her bachelorette party, and to apologize Luke had built her a Chuppah. They hadn't seen each other since the afternoon he'd brought it over.

And Sookie had neglected to mention that Jess was back.

"Hi." Lorelai was the first to break the awkward silence, as the four of them met up in the middle of the room.

"Hi." Luke responded. "Hi," before he addressed Rory. The uncomfortable greetings continued until they all four had spoken to one another. "So, you're back. How was Boston?" he asked after a moment of quiet.

"Good." Rory replied a little too loudly. "We went to Harvard."

"I see that. So, coffee?"

"Yes! Please." Lorelai followed him over to the counter as the two teenagers remained in the centre of the room.

"I'm back." Jess explained. "Back in town, back at school…"

"Why?"

"Well, I thought… Luke missed me?" he finished uncertainly.

"Right. Of course, well that's good. I should be going though. Mom?"

"Yeah?" Lorelai turned in her seat.

"Can I have the keys? I wanna start on the laundry."

"Now?"

"Yeah. If I go now I can do it my way."

"Fine. Freak child, go have your weird fun." She replied, handing over the keys to the Jeep. Her daughter may have been a circus freak at times, but she was her little circus freak.

"Bring me coffee?"

"Will do." Rory ran out to the car and drove home.

* * *

"I couldn't understand why he was back. And he didn't really give too much away at that stage. There was an end of summer party that Finn insisted I go with him to. And that's where I met the first one of my… dates."

* * *

"Seriously Rory, I think you'll enjoy this party. You haven't been having any fun since Logan."

"I've been having fun." She protested.

"Watching movies with your mother and planning her ill-fated wedding are not exactly my idea of fun. Now come on, we'll go, spend a couple of hours and if you're really not enjoying yourself, I promise I will sacrifice my enjoyment in order to bring you home. How does that sound?"

"I don't know why you're so invested in this." Rory replied, climbing off the couch. "But fine, I'll go." She dressed quickly and they headed to the party.

"Rothschild, where've you been hiding?" a voice called out not long after they entered the party.

"Miles?" Finn turned to the boy who had addressed him and Rory watched them perform some sort of complicated handshake, the likes of which she had only really seen in the movies. "What are you doing here?"

"The parental units have decided to come back home to roost. No idea how long that'll last though. You know how they love to change their minds."

"That I do. Hey mate, have… you met Rory?" Finn asked, indicating the girl beside him.

"Can't say I've had the pleasure, no. Miles Gamblin, how do you do?"

"Hi." Rory replied nervously.

* * *

"We spent a couple of hours there and I talked to Miles for a bit. We made a plan to go out one night, but it wasn't exactly the best date. So we called it quits after that. Finn kept introducing me to guys and for some reason I actually went along with it and dated them. But if I hadn't, then I think that our lives would be very different to the way we know them now." Rory finished cryptically.

* * *

Alenor – you weren't expecting Jess? Oh well I hope you're happy anyway

Miguel51 – Marty? Marty? I'm sorry, but Marty? I laughed so hard when I read this, I'm sorry, but I hate Marty. The only thing I like about him is that he was essentially responsible for Logan and his 'boring LDB lackeys' coming into Rory's life. And Lucy, I loved Lucy. I didn't want to even include Dean to begin with and Marty may never exist in this world, but you never know.

nuttzZ1 – you knew? Well I guess that's ok, I'm not that mysterious. My thinking was that since they're so close, finding that out just changed everything she thought of him. It was originally a week, but I figured that was a little much.

Oasis789 – hey new reader, glad you're enjoying it. He's my fav too.

Storygirl21 – thanks so much. I am continuing. I want to try and show how they got to where they are now. That may not happen, but it's what I want to do anyway, so I'll give it a shot.

Curley-Q, dancer288, jessirose85, jory-brucas101, Midnight-Gypsy101, mittoots79, SarahB0B, Texas' Sweetheart, That Don't Make me a Bad Guy – thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you're all happy.


	13. His Side

AN: Thanks for your reviews! I had written out reponses to them, but I can't find those now, so, thanks. That pretty much covers it. Enjoy

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

The last real conversation Rory and Jess had was in New York when she skipped school. After that she hadn't expected to see him again, but when she'd returned from her trip to Harvard, he'd been right there in the diner.

Seeing him had been a massive shock and she'd come up with a lame excuse just so she could get out of there, away from him, away from all the prying eyes. But Rory knew that tactic wouldn't work forever, and if he had been serious about being back and going to school then she suspected that she would be seeing a lot more of him. Maybe he would even become more involved in town events, she mused.

So Rory decided that she would just have to suck it up and get used to him being around. Maybe they would be able to talk to each other again, like they had that day at the bridge, and in the park. Those had been some really good days.

She didn't have much time to dwell on those thoughts, as she had a date with another guy that Finn had introduced her to.

He seemed to enjoy playing this game he'd come up with called 'Haaave you met Rory?'

Every time they'd go somewhere, whether it be a function at her grandparents house, his house, something to do with school or just out in Hartford, he always managed to find someone to introduce her to. So far, Rory had been out with four guys. This was her third date with the second guy she'd met.

Originally she'd thought her mom would be against this idea, but she was all for it. Even more surprising, so was Emily. _'Apparently she was too young to be settling down with a steady boyfriend'_. Lorelai had attempted to translate her mother's words into something Rory could understand better.

"Logan was great and all, don't get me wrong I did like him. But there was just… something about him."

"Something bad obviously."

"Not bad exactly, just… Christopher-like."

"Really? You saw that in Logan? Because I thought Tristan was-"

"Oh yeah, he totally was too. But see, my point was – I do have a point here – that when I was your age, I had Chris, and I was also about to have you. But as much as I love you-"

"Mom, I know that." Rory interrupted.

"Yeah, I know. But I just think right now you shouldn't be focusing on one boy. Heaven forbid I actually agree with my mother, but I think you should play the field. You know, go along with Finn's fun. That boy is really good for you, and if he helps you grow and meet new people, I say more power to him."

"Grandma did not say 'play the field.'" Rory protested, grinning.

"No. Of course not. Have you met my mother? I'm just trying to speak her words in a language that we as twenty-first century women would understand." Lorelai clarified.

"Well, thank you for that." Rory replied. She didn't like to do things her mother didn't approve of, but she had been looking forward to this.

And so, with Lorelai's blessing, Rory had begun to date.

* * *

"I didn't have any of these boys meet me at the diner though."

"You didn't want to scare them like you did with Tristan and Logan?" Lo asked. They were on their way home, after spending the day in Jess' office. Just being surrounded by his things made Rory feel good, but she had announced that they should leave and let him get back to work.

"No. It might seem a little harsh, but they didn't mean all that much to me. It was all just a bit of fun, like my mom said."

"That makes sense." Lo replied, nodding.

"When did you marry daddy?" Em asked, looking up at her mother as they crossed the street.

"Well, let's see. At this point I was sixteen, so not for a few years yet. Remember, we'd only kissed once, and we weren't really talking much." Rory explained.

She would catch Emma up on the story each night at bed time, so that she still got all the suitable details. Telling Lo first allowed her to figure out what she shouldn't say the second time around.

"Oh no. I… have to go back to Truncheon." Lo announced just as they reached the end of their street.

"Why? Is something wrong?" Rory asked.

"No. I just… left something behind. I shouldn't be long. I'll see you in a bit." She added, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek, before taking off for the place she'd just come from.

Red faced and out of breath, Charlotte Mariano barrelled through her father's office door, startling him, and causing him to look up from his laptop.

"Lo? Baby, what's wrong?" he asked coming around to where she stood, panting.

He'd always been sensitive to her feelings, and her entire life they'd been really close. After what had happened when she found out about him leaving, he'd tried to stay even closer to her, to prove that he loved his family just as much as he said he did, and that he was never going anywhere.

"I… I ne- need you to…"

"Take a breath, ok? Just slow down." Jess instructed, as she sank onto the couch, dropping her head between her knees.

"I need you to tell me your side of the story." She was finally able to request.

"My side?"

"Just… I want to know how you were handling mom's new lease on life. So far all she's told us is the things she was doing, and what she was feeling. All I know from you is that you weren't happy. But daddy, I wanna know everything. Can you tell me your side?" Lo implored, her chocolate eyes growing large.

When Rory looked at the girls she saw Jess' eyes, and sure they were the same color as his, but aside from that, they were Gilmore eyes, through and through. Even without that particular coloring he'd fallen in love with so many years ago, they still possessed a certain power. Everything Rory had been able to do and say with her eyes, Jess was certain his girls could do to.

Like bring him to his knees and reveal things he didn't really want to say out loud.

"Of course I can tell you. If that's what you really want." He added, just to be sure.

"Absolutely, that way I'll have the full picture of your beginnings."

"You know, you could just wait a few months, until I'm done with this." He replied, hooking his thumb back and indicating to his laptop. For a while now he had been writing about his history with Rory. It wasn't exactly something he was sure about publishing, even though being part owner of a publishing house, he could do just about anything he wanted. But he wanted to write it all down so that if they ever chose to, his kids could go back and read it.

She shook her head. "Mm no. I want you to tell me." She replied, definitely.

"Well ok, if you insist."

* * *

Rory was getting worried. '_I shouldn't be long_' Lo had said before running off over an hour ago.

Ordinarily this wouldn't bother her, but given recent events Rory was currently running through everything she'd said, to check if she'd upset her daughter again. Even when she couldn't come up with anything she wasn't sure if that meant she could relax. Until her phone beeped, announcing a new text message.

_With dad, helping tidy up, be home for dinner_.

Rory sighed with relief. If there was something wrong Jess would definitely be the one who was able to fix it.

* * *

Jess was sitting on the crappy mattress, otherwise known as his bed, when Luke stormed in.

"So, I went to see your principal today," he announced.

Jess didn't look up from his book. "Huh."

"He says you're flunking out. He says you're not showing up for class. But I've seen you leave here every morning after breakfast and head off to school. So, if you're not going there, then tell me Jess, where the hell do you spend your days?"

"I don't need that school." was his simple answer. It was true, he'd realized it after just a few days.

"Who are you to decide what you do or don't need? I am your guardian." Jess scoffed at his uncle's words. "Your mother sent you here to live with me. She may not have made many good choices in her life, but sending you here, that was good. Until you turn eighteen, I am your guardian, whether you like it or not. And I say you have to go to school."

"There's nothing they can teach me there. I've got better things to do with my time."

"Like what? Explain it to me. If you're living here, under my roof, I deserve to know what it is that you're doing that's so much better for you than school. What, have you got a girlfriend a couple towns over? Do you sneak off and ruin her future by keeping her out of school too?"

"It's none of your business." Jess answered back. He didn't want to be having this conversation. He knew that every one of the nosey freaks that lived in this crazy town would be downstairs right now, hanging on every word.

"It is my business, because you are my responsibility and anything concerning you is my business. So tell me right now. What is so important, you've decided you don't need an education? Coz, I'll tell you something for nothing, you don't go to school, you won't get a job." Luke added.

"I've got a job." Jess spoke shortly, moving around the apartment like some sort of caged animal. God, he hated it up there, so cramped, there wasn't enough air for a normal human being to function on. Why was he expected to live like this?

"So, that's your big plan? Working the least amount of hours you can here, and then spending the rest of your time, bumming around parks and reading? That sounds great. Real ambitious, genius."

"I work at Wal-Mart. I've been working there for months, I get paid better than when I'm here and I don't have to deal with you, or this insane asylum you call a town."

"Wal-Mart?" Jess was silent. He didn't look at Luke, but he could tell that the older man was staring at him, bewildered. "That's what you're gonna do with your life? Work for minimum wage in a department store, wearing one of those ridiculous blue vests?"

"It's no diner, but-"

"I own this diner, kid." Luke returned, jabbing his finger in the air. "This is mine. You would be so lucky as to have a job like mine." He took a breath and started again. "This is what we're going to do; you'll quit your job at Wal-mart. I'll cut back your hours here, but if it's about the money, I'll raise your salary. You'll go back to school and if you need it, I'll find you a tutor, just to catch you up on the stuff you've missed-"

"I'm not quitting."

"Yes you are. You can't expect to catch up if you don't put all of your focus into school."

"I am not going back to school." He yelled with more conviction than he'd ever felt. Luke was clearly trying to keep his temper in check, and surprisingly it was working.

"Then you gotta go." He finally responded.

Without another word, Jess took off out of the apartment, and ran all the way to the bridge. He had always known that school was a condition of his living with Luke. But that school was a joke.

They spoke the pledge of allegiance in six different languages, the teachers were all virtually teaching two subjects each, and not doing the best job at either of them, and he was smarter than every kid there, he'd passed their intelligence level years ago.

But of course, because he was a certain age, school was still a requirement that he was supposed to comply with. All it did was bore him. So, he'd skipped a few classes. Then he decided to do something with his free hours, and found a job.

Now he was working full-time, and he'd just been busted.

_Game over, Mariano_. He thought.

* * *

"I spent the summer living back with my mom. And I know now that she was working on getting her life together, but with me around it wasn't going so well. So I still saw the drunk with a string of bad boyfriends, making one bad decision after another. I hated being there.

"Then your mom came and visited me. From that day on, I couldn't get her off my mind. Of course, I had been thinking about her before hand, but after that kiss it was impossible to stop. So eventually I got up the nerve to drive my piece of junk car back to Stars Hollow. It died right outside the diner, so Luke didn't really have much choice about letting me stay.

"I told him that this time I would go to school if that's what it took, and even though he asked what had changed my mind, I wasn't going to tell him the real reason. It didn't take long for me to regret my decision though. I came back because of Rory, but by that time she'd broken up with her boyfriend and was into the 'non-exclusive dating' thing. I didn't want any part of that; she was the only one I wanted. So I kept my distance the best I could in the confines of this tiny town."

* * *

Avoiding the one person that he liked within the entire town was really difficult for Jess. Especially since her favorite place to eat was his uncle's place of business. And he had most of his classes with her best friend.

Early on, Rory had tried introducing him to people so that when she went to Chilton he would know someone. Being the first kid he met in Stars Hollow, she seemed to feel responsible for that aspect of his life. But he had rebuffed her efforts, sheltering himself off from everyone, even more so after she transferred to her fancy school.

For some reason Lane had then taken up Rory's mission to bring him back out of himself, but she wasn't as interested as the coffee-addict had been, and gave up quicker.

By the time he had returned to Stars Hollow high, most people had come to the conclusion that he didn't want anything to do with them, so Jess was left alone, just the way he'd liked it.

There was still the issue of Rory though.

He wanted to see her all the time, but he told himself to ignore that impulse. She may have came to him and asked him to come home, then kissed him, but she'd moved on now.

She was dating, and not just one boy.

He'd done that. In New York he'd had a couple of girlfriends, everything was pretty casual, but then again, he'd been fifteen. Despite what all the teen pop songs said, things weren't really that big of a deal at that age, some people just blew things out of proportion. At least that was the way he viewed the world.

_She did like me, didn't she?_ He wondered, putting his book down frustrated. It was pretty much impossible to concentrate on anything these days, because all he did with his time was wonder if he'd been an idiot coming back here. _Otherwise she wouldn't have come all that way._

She did. She had to, he decided. That thought was enough to get him through her little experiment. As long as he knew what he wanted, then he could wait for her to figure herself out.

He'd overheard a few conversations about her dates between her and her mom or Lane, and he had a feeling that it wouldn't take all that long for at least one of the guys she was seeing to prove what a dick he was, and for Rory to call off the whole thing.

At least he hoped.

* * *

"I'd already done the things she was just getting to, so I figured it was only fair to wait and see if she really did feel the way I felt or if I'd just imagined it all."

"You're a marshmallow." Lo pronounced when her dad stopped speaking.

"Excuse me?" he asked, trying to sound tough or dangerous; the way people had seen him when he was her age. That guy was long gone though; much to his dismay, Jess Mariano was in fact a marshmallow.

"You were a major softy. She was all you could think about and you spent all that time wishing and hoping she'd realize what a great guy you were. I love that! You were totally pining for mom."

"I was not pining." Jess argued, reminiscent of his uncle's response to something Lorelai had said years earlier.

"It's ok. I promise I won't tell; as far as everyone else will know, you can remain manly."

"Thank you for that." He glanced up at the clock above the door. "We should get going though; your mom's probably about to have a breakdown; you've been gone a long time."

"I told her I'd be here with you, I'm sure she's fine." Lo replied, before a big grin grew on her face. "You just wanna see her again, don't you? You're such a soft-touch."

"I love my wife, and I want to see her. Is that a crime?" Jess asked, tugging Lo off the couch, and into a hug. "Coz if it is, that's fine, I deserve to be locked up."

"Oh my God! Could you be any more embarrassing?" she asked, pulling away from him.

"You should never ask a father that question." He warned her, raising his voice slightly. "Coz I could yell to the world about my two little girls. I could whip out baby photos, show complete strangers a picture of you, in your crib, completely covered in your own-"

"Shut up! I was a baby; babies don't know what they're doing. And you swore you destroyed that photo."

"As if. It's being hidden in a safety deposit box for you twenty-first birthday. That's when the real embarrassment will begin." Jess explained.

"I hate you! I hope you realize that." Lo told him, stomping away. Jess just laughed. It was so good to have things back to normal.

* * *

AN: So we went back in time a little, but I thoiuht that would be fun. Was I alone in this thinking? Just a little more insight into the father-daughter relationship there. That photo he was describing, I don't really have one, but my sister did that. I won't say any more cause she would kill me if she knew I'd said that much. Anyway, review!


	14. Joy

AN: I have no idea if I should be apologising, but usually there is something for me to apologize for. So just to be on the safe side, sorry for the wait..? Anyways, thanks for your reviews. Enjoy.

* * *

She approached him slowly, but she had a feeling he knew that he was no longer alone. Once she stood on the bridge, just a few feet behind him, she spoke the first words she'd said to him in weeks.

"I'm sorry."

"Why? What have you done?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at her.

"I… I think I've been sending mixed messages? I'm not sure. Maybe it's all been in my head, I don't know anymore."

"You mean asking me to come 'home', kissing me and then for the most part, ignoring me, while you go out with a bunch of snobs?"

"Yeah. For all of that, I just… I-"

"You think you're what got me here?" Jess demanded, getting to his feet. Rory couldn't find words to respond. He seemed just as angry as the night that prompted his first apology. "You think that one kiss and your plea were enough to make me leave my life, my friends and want to come back to live in this freak show?"

"I thought maybe-"

"I can't stand my mother, and I like to have food on the table at night. That's why Luke's was so much more appealing than my _home._ So you can stop telling yourself that you should've been nicer to me when I got back. This had nothing to do with you." His lie, completed and hanging in the air between them, Jess walked away.

* * *

"I didn't mean to be that harsh, but a part of me was angry with her. She was the _only_ reason I was there. But the other part of me knew she deserved to have a chance to experience the things I'd already grown bored with. If by the end of her experiment, we both still felt something, then great. But I didn't want to force her into anything."

"You had a habit of doing that," Lo observed. "Keeping people at arms length."

"Yeah, well in my mind there was nothing that could come from getting close to someone, only pain. So I pushed back against everyone."

"I'm glad you stopped. I couldn't imagine that guy being my dad."

"That guy didn't have a chance in hell of being anyone's dad. Everyone hated him."

"That's not true. Mom liked him." Jess frowned; talking about himself as if he were another person was very strange.

"Only just," he replied. "She wouldn't talk to me for a couple more weeks after that. For months we had this whole back and forth thing. I would piss her off and apologize, then she would piss me off and the cycle continued. The good thing was that I was doing better in school. Every time we weren't speaking I developed this sort of shield. I could put her in one part of my mind and block it off in order to think about my studies. I wasn't doing fantastic, but at least I got Luke off my back for a while."

"And this whole time mom was dating randoms?"

"Not the whole time. It was on and off –at least that was the impression that I got from eavesdropping in the diner. I also learned that Aunt Lane was playing in a band at a party for some girl at school."

"Ohh! The beginnings of Hep Alien?"

"Yes, but not as you know them. This was before Gil joined; Dave was the original bass player, and secret boyfriend."

"Who's Dave?"

"I hadn't gotten that far yet." Rory announced, coming into the kitchen, followed closely by Emma. "What's going on?"

"Dad's just..."

"Telling her my side. That ok?"

"Of course. But you'd better be nice to me in these recollections." Rory returned his words.

"We'll see. You weren't exactly my favorite person at this point."

"I was to."

"Ok, fine. But I was mad at you."

"And I was mad at you."

"This is going to be torture!" Lo cried out, causing her sister to laugh. She may have been a lot like her father at times, but there was still a touch of Lorelai's dramatics and impatience thrown in. "I know I said I wanted to hear everything, but could we maybe skip ahead to where you stopped hating each other?"

"Yeah," the youngest Mariano agreed. "I don't like it when you don't like each other."

Jess and Rory looked at one another and smiled. "It wasn't that far away actually." Rory replied. "Lane's new found happiness with Dave-"

"You never told us what happened to Henry."

"He broke up with her the day of the bid-a-basket auction. He wanted to go to prom and decided that things with Lane were too complicated. Then she found this band looking for a drummer.

* * *

Rory was listening to Lane talk about Dave Rygalski again. It was so great to see her friend happy. Even though she had to hide this relationship from the other members of the band, as well as her mother (everything was hidden from Mrs. Kim), she was so enthusiastic about it in private.

As she sat listening to Lane describe another band practice filled with secret messages, Rory finally identified the feeling she'd been trying to decipher.

_I'm jealous._ She thought. For the first time in her life, Rory was envious of her friend. The friend with the strict religious mother, the friend with no freedom. She was jealous of Lane's relationship with Dave.

"Lane, I think I've screwed up." Rory announced, interrupting the rehearsal play-by-play.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"He hates me. I'm sure he hates me. Why did I do this?"

"Do what? Which he? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Jess."

"Oh."

"It's just… I'm an idiot. I went and asked him to come back here, then I ignored him while I went out with- Oh no! I forgot about Mike."

"Mike?"

"He's in my history class. I don't want to go now. I can't do it anymore."

"Call and cancel." Lane suggested handing over the phone as Lorelai stopped in the doorway. "Just tell him something came up. And then you can explain to me what's going on in your head."

Rory nodded. She made her call and then started over.

"There's some stuff I didn't tell you." She began. Lane gave all the appropriate best friend responses as Lorelai listened silently in the hall. "Now we're not speaking again, and I really think he might hate me."

"No. I'm ninety-nine per cent sure he doesn't. He probably just doesn't know what you're thinking; which is fair enough because I had no idea until now."

"What if he does though? What if he wants nothing to do with me?"

"What if the world imploded tomorrow?" the Asian countered. "Don't worry about that stuff Rory. If you like him you should tell him."

"I already tried, but I couldn't do it."

"Well," Lane replied, pulling Rory up by her hand. "Try again. And this time don't chicken out. I'll come with you for moral support, ok? Let's go."

Out in the hall, Lorelai began to panic. She opened the front door quietly and then closed it with a bang. "Hello? Anybody home?"

"Hi Mom. We're going for a walk ok? We'll be back later." Rory explained.

"Oh, ok. Sure. Hi Lane, bye Lane. See you sweets."

The two girls left the house and walked to the centre of town, the entire time, Rory tried bargaining with Lane to do this another time, but she wouldn't budge.

They reached the diner all too quickly for Rory's liking, and were just in time to see a girl with a mass of blonde curls walk through the door, call out something to get Jess' attention and then jump into his arms.

* * *

"Happy? What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, hugging her tightly.

"Being crushed by your bear strength. Air!!" He let her drop to the ground and smiled at her sheepishly.

"Sorry. I just wasn't expecting… What are you doing here?"

"A girl can't surprise the most important guy in her life for no reason?" she asked, only now registering all the people staring her. "What's going on here?" she asked, waving a hand around the room.

"They, ah… They have no lives. Come on." Jess took her hand, leading her upstairs to the apartment, calling over his shoulder to Luke that he was taking a break.

* * *

"Dad! You said you were going to wait for her. Who's the bimbo?" Lo demanded.

"She's not a bimbo." Jess defended, as Rory laughed. "That was just a slight misunderstanding. Now hush; let your mother tell her bit."

* * *

Rory and Lane stood on the street, watching the scene through the window. As Jess took the mystery girl's hand, both their jaws dropped, then the two teens disappeared behind the curtain.

"Ok. So just for future reference, anything I tell you to do from now on," Lane began, "Ignore it."

"I… Um, no. That's ok actually. This clears a few things up. I just need to go."

"Rory!" Lane called out as Rory walked quickly down the street.

* * *

"Oh my God I can't believe you're really here! It is so good to see you." Jess told the girl in his arms as his hand moved through her hair. "Listen, I'm sorry about-"

"Oh please, I forgave you for that stuff ages ago. Besides, I missed you, and I figured that you wouldn't object to my being here, so tell me, what's been happening? What do you do in this town for fun?"

"I am definitely not going to object, nothing's been happening, and there is nothing fun in this town."

"Come on Mariano, I don't believe that for a second. You wouldn't have come here of your own free will without some incentive, so tell me. Who's the girl?" she demanded.

Jess scooted backwards on the couch, looking away from his best friend. She was the only person who could really read him. They hadn't seen each other much in the past few months; they'd had a big fight right before he was shipped off to live with Luke, and hadn't spoken until he returned to New York. But even then things were still a little iffy. He hadn't mentioned Rory then, and he hadn't had a chance to tell her anything since she'd just walked back into his life. But already, she knew something was up.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm sorry, have you met me? Since when do I take 'I don't want to talk about it' as an answer? There is clearly something up with you, and I can only think of one thing that it could be. Now tell me, who's the girl?" she repeated, and with a sigh, Jess began to explain.

* * *

Lo nodded, she understood now who the 'bimbo' was. "Ok, so that's it though, right? Aunt Joy showed up and kicked your butt into gear and then the two of you were happy?" she asked her dad.

His best friend Joy Mathews was one of her favorite 'relatives'. She was pretty pushy, always convincing people to do the things they didn't think they wanted to do, while she could tell that deep down, they really did.

Jess had been calling her Happy, (as in Happy, happy/ joy, joy) for as long as anyone could remember.

"Well, she kicked my butt, I eventually told her what she wanted to know, and she demanded that I… 'Suck it up, become a man and tell the girl how I really feel.'" Jess explained.

"Except that he didn't." Rory replied.

* * *

Rory got off the bus after school and started for Doose's, her mom had asked her to stop in and pick up some 'breakfast essentials.'

"Rory?" she stopped when she heard a voice call out to her. She turned around and found herself looking at the girl from the diner. Jess' girlfriend. "You're Rory right?"

"Yes." Rory replied uncertainly. She wasn't sure she wanted to be talking to this girl.

"Oh good. Great, actually. He told me a lot about you, but there were no visual aids, so I kind of just had to guess."

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm Happy. Well, actually my name is Joy, but Jess hasn't called me that in years. Joy Mathews. Jess' best friend in the whole wide world." She replied, linking her arm through Rory's. "So, I wanted to talk to you about something; I have this friend, who's a total idiot. See he likes this girl, but he's too chicken to tell her and from what I've been told, the girl likes him too, but she has the same problem. Now what I'm hoping is that you'll know what we can do to get these two numb skulls to finally admit their feelings to one another."

Rory just blinked at the girl as they walked inside the store together. "I have no idea how to respond to any of that."

"Well, I'll let you in on a little secret here, Rory –can I call you Rory?"

"Everyone does."

"Ok great, so this is the thing, the silly little boy in my story is Jess." Joy stage whispered and Rory nodded slowly. "And the girl who he likes-"

"Yeah, I get it."

"You do? That's excellent." As they walked around the store, Joy filled a basket with things that were lacking in Luke's apartment, and Rory grabbed pop tarts and the other things on her mom's list. "What I'm hoping you can do for me is what Jess is unable to do. I told him to be a man and come clean with you. But he refuses to do that. I don't know you, but you should know that I love him very much, and all I want is to see him happy."

"I'm glad. I was starting to believe that he really didn't have anyone in his life that cared for him."

"Well, he does. We had a bit of a hiccup a few months back- I didn't like the way he was living his life and when I tried talking to him, he blew me off and we didn't speak for ages, but now we're back on track, so I want to help him," She spoke very fast and Rory found herself wondering how Jess could be so close with a person who revealed so much so quickly to a stranger, when he himself barely said a word. "I know that you care for him as well and I am begging you to just… put all this stuff to bed and tell him how you really feel."

Rory stopped for a moment, studying the girl beside her. Was this really happening? Had she just been accosted by a complete stranger and asked to lay her feelings out on the table, when the other person involved was incapable of doing the same? Was she serious?

"I don't see why I-"

"Don't you get it? His whole life Jess has been let down by everyone who was supposed to be there for him. Even me, I failed him as a friend back in New York, but I'm trying to fix that now. He won't make the first move, because he's afraid that if he does, you'll leave him too. I don't think he could take another disappointment like that."

"What am I supposed to do?" Rory asked quietly. Joy threw her head back and laughed.

"Finally we're getting somewhere! Ok. So, here's the plan…"

* * *

"This girl knew your dad inside out," Rory explained. "So she was able to tell me exactly how I could fix things between us and finally stop playing the games we'd been playing. Except he was still very stubborn, and needed a little more of a push."

* * *

Unbeknownst to Jess, when Joy wasn't with him, she was usually with Rory.

The two girls had become fast friends and she had decided she was going to get Rory and Jess together no matter how long it took.

"So, I gather from the fact that señor cranky pants hasn't cracked a smile since I got here, that things haven't improved with you yet."

"No, I know. I'm trying, but…"

"But he's Jess and he's back to his surly mindset of 'trust no one, don't let anyone in.' It's ok, I'll work on him again. This will happen." She promised.

* * *

"Hey, what can I do to help?" Joy asked, swooping into the diner in the middle of the lunch rush.

"Get out of the way." Jess told her, twisting to move around her and put some plates on a table near the window.

"Give me a job, I'm here to help. Come on Jessie-"

"Happy, seriously I'm busy. So just don't get in the way right now, ok?"

"Excuse me? Can I order please?" a woman called out from a table in the corner.

"Can I take her order?" Joy asked, dodging Jess as he moved quickly throughout the room.

"This isn't what I ordered." Another customer announced.

"Just, hold on a sec." Jess barked at the man, rushing to the kitchen. "Fine, take her order, but Hap-"

"I know, just her order, no improvisations, no entertainment. Just do the job." She parroted. There had been a couple of days where the place had been packed and Luke, being desperate, had asked his newest border to lend a hand. "I get it; now fix up your other customer's. Go!" they split up to do their jobs and Joy laughed, she'd missed being around him.

* * *

"Oh my God I'm exhausted!" Joy exclaimed, collapsing into a chair as the last customer for the night left, and Luke flipped the closed sign over.

"Thanks a lot for all your help today, Joy. I really appreciate it." He told her.

"No probs. Anyway, I was hoping we could go for a walk Jess? What d'you say?" she asked him, standing up again.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever."

"Not too late, ok? You got school tomorrow." Luke warned as the two of them headed out the door.

"So what's this about?" Jess asked as they walked along a deserted street. The diner was pretty much the last place to close each night.

"What makes you think I don't just want to spend some time with you?"

"Because I know you, you're up to something, so spill."

"Ok fine. It's about Rory."

"Here we go." Jess rolled his eyes heavenward.

"Don't try and pretend there's nothing there. I've seen it, you like her, maybe it's more than like, I'm not sure yet, but I know that there is something between the two of you and I know I've already tried this, but I'm going to give it another shot. Talk. To. Her. Jess. Seriously, you need to tell her how you feel so the two of you can stop wasting time."

"I seem to remember telling you this was none of your business." Jess replied, menacingly. He was sick of this conversation.

"Yeah, well, I've never been one to keep my nose out of other people's business, have I? I have a request to make now. Tomorrow, when Rory and Lorelai come in for breakfast, you will get over your crap and talk to her!"

Jess glared at her for a minute. "She doesn't-"

"She does." Joy replied, nodding. "I've talked to her about this a lot-"

"Why would you do that?"

"I had to, because you wouldn't. She does, though. She just doesn't think that you do. Nice work by the way, making the girl think you hate her."

"I'll talk to her." Jess finally conceded.

"Thank you God!" she cried out, throwing her head back. "You won't regret this, trust me."

"Yeah, yeah. You'd better be right." Jess warned, as they approached the diner once more, having circled the block.

* * *

Jess watched Rory enter the diner with her mother the next morning. It was surprisingly quiet for this time of day, but Happy was on stand-by, ready to fill in as soon as Jess needed to take off.

"That's your cue superstar. Now remember what we talked about."

"Honesty," Jess muttered, rolling his eyes. Having a personal cheerleader was getting really annoying.

"That's right. So go get her." Pulling the order pad out of his pocket, she gave him a slight push towards the Gilmore's before fetching a fresh pot of coffee to placate Lorelai.

A couple of things about that woman stood out.

"Can I talk to you, in private?" Jess requested, standing before the object of his affections.

She shared a look with her mother who simply shrugged; she still hadn't officially been let into the loop just yet. "Um, yeah. I guess." She replied, standing up.

As he led the way towards the apartment, Jess saw Happy shoot what she believed to be a covert smile to the brunette behind him.

"So, I heard you met Happy." Jess began when he closed the door.

"Yes. She's interesting. Not exactly who I pictured you being friends with, but I like her."

"Yeah, she likes you too. That's part of the reason we're up here right now. I… I'm not really good at this." He confessed as they sat on opposite ends of the couch.

"What?" Rory looked genuinely confused. They hadn't been speaking much and despite Joy's assurances she still partly believed Jess disliked her.

"I need to… I have to tell you what I'm feeling, even though some of it may not make sense to you."

"Ok."

"I've never… met anyone like you before. And as cliché as it sounds, you scared me. I didn't know how to be around you, so I just did what I've always done and pushed you away. Do you remember when I told you everyone would fail you at some point?" Rory nodded. "Well that was after Joy and I had a fight. Before that she was the one person I could count on, but at that point I was angry at her, which translated to me being angry with the world.

"Then I came here and met you. I didn't want to let you in, I didn't want to go through that again, but there really wasn't anything I could do, you were getting to me. You got under my skin. But then you had this parade of guys come through the diner and the town and I was back to square one, thinking that I shouldn't trust you."

"Can I…?" Rory broke her silence and Jess nodded his consent to her interruption. "Those guys didn't mean anything. Well, Tristan is a really good friend of mine and I miss him a lot. Finn is also important to me. The guys that I went out with after Logan… I still don't know what I was thinking; everyone was telling me it would be good for me, so I just did it. I know now that that's not what I want."

"So, what do you want?" He asked tentatively.

"I want you." Rory admitted quietly. "I want us to just stop all these games and finally own up to how we feel."

"In the spirit of full disclosure, there's something I need to do." Jess responded, moving a little closer to Rory on the couch, she nodded as he took her hand. For a moment they just sat, watching each other, but then Jess slowly moved forward and soon their lips met in a chaste kiss.

Rory had only done this a couple of times and she couldn't help thinking of how much better at it Jess was, but it didn't take long for all thoughts to leave her mind and allow her to concentrate on the softness of his lips against hers.

Jess was also thinking of how inexperienced he felt. He'd kissed girls before, but none of them had really meant all that much to him, so the kissing hadn't been too intimidating. But this girl was really something and he was suddenly terrified of messing up.

"You're not going to hop on a bus and leave town again are you?" Jess half-joked as they separated, their fingers still entwined.

"Yes and no." Rory replied. "I have to go to school, which means leaving this town, by bus. But I'll be back. We could hang out this afternoon?"

"Or, maybe we should wait until our date tonight." Jess responded Rory blinked at him. "That is if you want to-"

"That sounds great. It really does, but I should get going so I don't get detention and have to stay at Chilton all night."

"Good idea." He agreed as they stood up. "I'll walk you out." When Jess reached out to open the door, Rory stopped him and pulled him back for another kiss.

"Sorry," she ducked her head, shielding her face with her hair. "I just really wanted to do that again, but I couldn't do it in front of the town."

"Never apologize for that." Jess reprimanded her, catching her lips once more, before they walked out the door.

* * *

"So that was when we started dating." Jess explained. Rory had had to rush off to the bathroom; their son was playing havoc with her bladder, but aside from that, it was a pretty easy pregnancy.

"And you lived happily ever after?" Em asked, using the only phrase she liked from dad's 'silly stories'.

"And one day you decided you wanted to get married, and have babies," Lo added, laughing. "And nobody ever got in your way."

"If you want, sure. We'll go with that."

"No." the older girl objected. "That's not how it really happened. So come on, tell us, what else went wrong?"

* * *

"So Love, tell me, have you heard it yet?" Finn asked Rory after she'd spent a week smiling like a lunatic.

"Heard what?" She asked, slipping out of her daze.

"Mystery man saying I love you."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rory protested.

"Come on, I know you broke your date with Mike, and now you're smiling like a newlywed. So tell me, who is he?"

"I'm not smiling any more than usual." Rory denied, trying to suppress another grin. This thing with Jess was still very new and she didn't want to let anybody in too early.

She had told her mom that she was done with the dating, but as of yet, Joy was the only one aware of the change in relationship status.

"Fine. Don't tell me, but I will find out. You mark my words." He warned her. Rory just laughed.

It was nice to know something that no one else knew about.

* * *

Rory hugged Joy tightly before the girl moved to her best friend. She knew she would always be grateful to that girl; for as long as Jess was in her life anyway.

"I'm gonna miss you Happy." Jess told her before he released her.

"No you won't. Coz you'll have your beautiful new girlfriend to distract you. And I'm going to be popping into your life all the time." She explained, giving the two of them a bright smile. "Ok, well you probably will. I am freaking fantastic, but try to deal without me, ok?" they nodded and with one last smile, Joy walked away to board her bus to New York. Rory and Jess stood holding hands watching her go.

"I want to tell people," Rory commented once the bus had driven away and they were headed back out to Jess' car.

"That Happy's gone? I think they'll work that out," he replied with a smirk.

"About us," Rory clarified. "We should tell our friends and mom and Luke."

"Well I've told my friend, but you go ahead and tell anyone else you want."

"You don't want to tell Luke?"

"Not really." At Rory's hurt look he rushed to explain. "The least amount of conversations I have to have with Luke the better. It's not a reflection of how I feel about you."

"Well, ok. But I still want to tell some people if it's ok."

"Go ahead." Jess replied. They reached a red light and he leaned over to kiss her. "Just let me know when Luke's going to be coming after me, ok?" Rory laughed as they started to move again.

* * *

Ok, so everything is right in the world. Rory and Jess are together so everyone that was happy about him being the dad should be happy now too. Also, expect more appearences by Joy. I fell in love with this girl when she first popped out of my head, and now I can't get rid of her., so she will definatly be returning.


	15. Return Of The Hot Dog King

AN: I've been writing like mad lately. It may not seem like it because my updates are so spaced out, but I have a plan. Bare in mind this is just a thought so it may not work out how I say, but I am going to try. Currently I am working on chapter 19 and I've just posted 15. I'm planning to post everything I have in the next few days and then update as soon as I get my chapters back from Kassandra27. So, here goes.

Disclaimer: I only own Lo, Em and Joy, everyone else is on loan. I've slightly tweaked a little speech that Ryan Atwood made during "The Heights"

Thanks for all of your reviews, keep 'em coming I love them. Enjoy.

* * *

Rory slowly made her way into the living room, gearing up to finally tell all to her mother.

Their relationship hadn't been right in months and Rory knew she was responsible for that. Ever since she'd started at Chilton, things had been different, but it wasn't because of the pressures of the school, or anything at all to do with Chilton. That had just coincided with Jess' arrival, which was Rory's real reason for shutting her mother out.

"Mom, I need to talk to you." Rory stated, standing at the end of the couch where her mother sat flipping through a catalogue.

"That sounds ominous." The older woman replied, shifting to make room.

"It's nothing bad," Rory rushed to explain as she sat down. "I just want to tell you some of the stuff that's been going on with me lately." She added. "You were right, I do have a lot happening and I don't want to keep it from you anymore."

"Ok, I'm listening."

"I haven't been very open with you lately, and I know that's been worrying you, but I was telling the truth when I told you I had someone to talk to. Or, well, we mostly started talking after I said that. But for the most part, I've had a sounding board, so you don't need to worry about that." Lorelai nodded, she had no idea what to think in this moment; would this be a good talk, or a bad one? "I'm not really sure why I decided to do that casual dating thing, or why I went out with Logan even, because for a while now, there's been someone else that I liked, I just couldn't admit it until very recently."

"Was it Tristan? Coz Honey, you had the chance-"

"It's not Tristan, and it isn't Finn either." Rory interrupted. Why couldn't she just be friends with these boys without people assuming there was something else going on? "They're my friends and that's all. It's Jess. He's the one I've been talking to, and he's the one that I like."

"How did I not see this coming?" Lorelai asked. "I mean, the constant are we talking, are we not talking, and then him asking you up to the apartment. He told you he loves you didn't he? They all say that, just so they can get-"

"No! He didn't tell me he loves me. We just had an honest conversation and finally told each other how we felt. It's all thanks to Happy. She made both of us come to our senses."

"Happy?"

"Joy, Jess calls her Happy. She's his best friend, and we owe her a lot. I'm happy mom."

"Now you're his best friend?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"No, I'm contented, euphoric. Jess makes me feel good. And I know you guys didn't really get off to the best start, what with him being all anti-people and Stars Hollow-hating, but I really think if you could give him a chance, you'd find out that you like him."

"I don't know about that, honey. He's been really hostile."

"This is important to me Mom. I would feel a lot better if the two of you got along. Could you try? For my sake?" Rory pleaded, the 'Rory face' turned up full blast.

"Oh I hate it when you do that!" Lorelai complained, nudging Rory with her foot. "Fine, I'll at least match him grunt for grunt. How does that sound?"

"It's a start," Rory replied, satisfied. She knew they wouldn't be instant bosom buddies, but if each of them were willing to give the other a chance, then maybe someday things would improve. "So do you wanna hear all the details?"

"There are details? Eww!" Lorelai grimaced and Rory waited to see if she was kidding. Within seconds she cracked a smile. "Spill!"

They snuggled into the couch and Rory began to specify the goings-on in her relationship with Jess from the very beginning, right up until their secret date at the bridge the other night, before Joy returned to New York.

* * *

Jess had planned to go to school early the next morning; he had an assignment to finish and figured the deserted halls of Stars Hollow High would be a better place to work than a packed diner, during the breakfast rush.

But, as he was gathering his books ready to leave Lorelai Gilmore breezed in, demanding coffee and Luke's attention.

"Hey mister, we need to talk about these two crazy kids of ours."

"What are you babbling about?"

"Rory and Jess; they're together now." Lorelai clarified

"Are you serious? Since when? I thought he was dating that Jay kid."

"Joy? No, apparently she's his best friend from back home. Turns out that there has been something going on since the night he got here, but it's only recently developed into an actual thing."

"Wow. Well, this is great."

"If you thought he was dating Joy, why would you let her stay here?"

"I thought if they were here at least I would know what they were up to, rather than have them out there doing God knows what."

"Riiight. So you really think this is a good thing?"

"Yeah. Don't you?"

"I always knew that there would be a Jess, That someday a bad boy would come into our lives and shake things up, but I wasn't expecting him to arrive this early. I thought I would have more time, but it seems that time has run out."

"Look, I know Jess is a little tough sometimes, but Rory's a good kid, and if she sees something in him then we should just trust that things will work out. Maybe she'll rub off on him."

"If you say so, I guess I can just wait it out. No offense, but I'm pretty sure that this is just a phase, you know, like her little experiment with the other boys she was seeing. You mark my words, my friend. This too shall pass."

Jess scowled, and turned on his heel, stomping out the back way through the store room. Luke didn't like him to use that door, but he really wasn't in the mood to speak to _that woman_ right now. And he didn't feel like finishing his school work either.

Consequences be damned, school was most defiantly not the place he needed to be at this moment.

* * *

"Ha! Grandma is so busted!" Lo cackled. Rory shook her head.

"I was so mad at her when I found out she'd said that. But we showed her." She added with a wicked grin. "My 'bad boy phase' has lasted even longer than she's been married. We so should have made a bet with her." Rory told Jess.

"And said what? 'We bet we'll still be together in twenty years while you and Luke will have only been together half that time?' She would have had us committed for that."

"Yeah you're right. But still we should get some sort of prize." Rory complained, now fixated on the fact that even though she'd proven her mother wrong, she didn't have a trophy or anything.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this. The fact that we've been together all this time means nothing to you without some crappy award?" Jess asked, attempting outrage. Truthfully he found the whole conversation hilarious; this was what he loved about her, her childish behavior kept them young.

"No. It... It doesn't matter. I love you." She added weakly, giving him a shy smile.

"It wouldn't hurt you to say it every now then." Jess replied, continuing with his facade. But at that point, Rory knew it was a joke. She was always telling Jess she loved him.

* * *

Breaking the news of their relationship to the town wasn't too difficult after that. With the support of one of the town's most trusted residents (Luke) and Lorelai's partial happiness, people backed down in their campaign against the union.

But there were still those who had their reservations. After all, Rory was so important to so many people and Jess was still Jess. Whether they wanted to trust him or not, he made the task a difficult one, simply by remaining himself.

He couldn't really help it though. Lorelai's words had stung, and since that day, despite what he promised Rory, he just couldn't be around her often or for prolonged periods of time.

After a couple of weeks of Lorelai's attempts to engage him in conversation, Jess finally confronted her about the things she'd said.

"I heard you that day you talked to Luke about us." He told her, keeping his eyes on Rory as she crossed the street with sustenance for Lane and the boys.

"Heard me talk to Luke about what?"

"You told him I was a phase; something Rory had to get out of her system." Lorelai winced and Jess knew she already felt bad, but he wasn't done. "I don't talk a lot about stuff and I really don't trust people… but I trust her,and I wanna make it, this work, no matter what. Whether you believe it or not, I do care about her. I'm not naïve enough to think that just because we want it to, this will work out. I know that your opinion is really important to Rory, and you can also influence how this town views me. I just want you to give me a chance -let me prove that I'm not all bad."

"I'm sorry Jess. I guess I just didn't think this could possibly be serious. But if you say it is, I guess I can cut you some slack. How about you come by tonight? We'll all watch a movie together."

"Are you- Really?" He asked, amazed. That was not something he'd been expecting.

"Yeah, why not? I should get to know my daughter's boyfriend, especially after the serve he just gave me."

"I didn't mean-"

"No. You're right; it was unfair of me to say that. I'm just protective."

"I know the feeling." He replied. Whenever Happy had a new boyfriend, Jess would morph into protective older brother mode. She said she hated it, but secretly it was nice to know that even without a caring father, there was still someone looking out for her.

"So, we'll see you at eight?" Lorelai asked and Jess nodded.

Movie night was a start, but he would show this woman once and for all that he was not expendable. He wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

"So did you win her over?" Lo asked. Em was hanging on every word. She'd gone through phases where she loved her parent's story, and then she didn't much care, but right now she was totally into it.

"Not completely. But you've seen us; you know she loves me now."

"Yeah, sometimes it's a little difficult to tell."

"Thanks a lot."

"You know what I mean. The way she talks to you sometimes… But I know she's only joking." Lo explained. Jess nodded, he understood that. There were times when the things Lorelai said to him were cleverly veiled insults for his past mistakes, but at other times she was just a kind-hearted mother-in-law poking fun.

"So I need to… There's something that you're going to be upset about, but you told me you wanted the full story, so in all honesty this is important, but if you don't want me to talk about it I'd understand." Jess attempted to warn the girls, but his explanation didn't make a whole lot of sense to them.

"What does that mean?" Emma asked. Rory understood with one look what Jess was trying to convey to her, she nodded and got ready to take up the storytelling.

"We'd been together… What was it, four months?" Jess nodded. "Right, so four months in, and things were going pretty well for us…"

* * *

In the months that followed Jess' first invitation to a traditional Gilmore Movie night, his and Rory's relationship continued to grow stronger, and over time, everyone who had resisted them being together realized that this was happening, and eventually backed off. Lorelai was still a little uncertain about him, but she'd promised to give him the benefit of the doubt and she was trying.

Everyone thought that things were going so well, that nobody saw it coming, least of all the two people so closely involved.

Jess had been doing a lot better in school, even though he still maintained that with his history he would never get into college, but Rory had him believing that if he knuckled down and actually tried in school, he could graduate and do something with his life.

There was a part of him that wanted her to be right, he didn't want to be the loser drop-out people expected him to become, so he really did try and apply himself.

But all the studying in the world couldn't tell him that his life was about to be turned on its head.

He was working in the diner, the place was packed and people were yelling at him as he tried to take care of them all at once. Luke was off at some appointment in Woodbury, and Caesar was being impossible.

Orders were being mixed up and they had apparently run out of ham. But the really annoying part - aside from Kirk - was that there was a man who'd moved in at a table for four, just ordering cup after cup of coffee.

Jess was pretty sure that unless this guy was somehow related to his girlfriend, the squatter was probably about to blow a fuse due to the amount of coffee he'd consumed in the hour he'd been sitting there.

"Know what you want yet?" He asked, stopping by the table in an attempt to get away from the crazy loud people. This guy was quiet, so at least that was something.

"Oh, uh, no, not yet." He stammered, looking up.

"You know what might help?"

"What?"

"Opening the menu." Jess retorted.

"Yes, thank you for the tip." Jess walked away. He couldn't take much more of this.

"Luke better get his ass back here soon." He muttered approaching the counter.

Just then Luke walked in, followed closely by Rory and the guy by the window disappeared. On her way towards the counter, Rory dropped her eyes to the tables out of habit, for some reason she always glanced at them on her way by.

"Oh, wait!" she called out, picking up the wallet that had been left on the table as she turned to the door. She knew that Jess was good at his job, but leaving an entire wallet as a tip? That was a new one. Flipping it open, Rory scanned the driver's license, she hadn't recognized the man's retreating back, but maybe she'd remember him when she knew his name. "Oh my God." She whispered, staring at the Californian ID. "Luke, Jess has to take a break!"

"What?" the older man asked gruffly.

"Now!" she added forcefully, grabbing her boyfriend's hand and pulling him out to the gazebo. "I have something I need to show you." She explained, as he started to say something about welcome distractions. Handing over the wallet, Rory carefully watched him as he looked through it and found the information that had startled her.

"Mariano… Jimmy, he was here. He was in there?"

"Yeah. It was the table by the window, I think. Did he look familiar to you?" she asked as Jess stared into space. He looked completely lost.

"I've never met my father. Never even seen a picture of him." He replied robotically. "He was the annoying coffee guy… I can't believe…" he shook his head and his face clouded over. "What the hell was he expecting, coming here? All would be forgiven and we could be a family?"

"I don't know. Jess, are you ok?" Rory asked carefully. She hadn't seen him like this in a long time.

"No. I mean, I don't… No. I'm not." He added.

"Jess! Come on, I need a little help here!" Luke yelled from the front steps of the diner. The teens looked at him for a moment before Jess stood up and walked away. Rory sat, still holding Jimmy Mariano's wallet that Jess had shoved back into her hands.

This wasn't good. She could tell he would start to shut down again, if something wasn't done soon. Pulling out her cell phone she made a quick call to the one person she knew would be able to fix this situation, before returning to the diner to speak with the man responsible for the broken boy she was becoming to care about more and more each day.

* * *

Joy was back in town in a flash. She was home schooled by her mother and so the trips she was taking to Stars Hollow weren't too big of a deal, as long as she promised to keep up with her reading.

Rory waited for her at the bus stop to give her a more detailed update of the situation. Within a day of speaking with his father, Jess had shut down just as Rory had predicted. There hadn't been anymore appearances of the fatherly variety, which Rory believed was due to her talking to Luke.

She'd taken the wallet to him, explained that Jess knew about it and that Joy would be back to help keep him calm. He told her he would take care of it, and that she shouldn't worry. "Focus on Jess," he added, before walking out of the diner.

"So, I know all about the Hot Dog King splitting sometime when Jess was a baby. He never knew exactly when, just got bits and pieces from Liz, but she's never been in a 'sit down and explain my life story' kind of mood. Anyways, when was the last sighting?"

"There was only the one. I'm pretty sure that Luke told him to leave, and Jess hasn't really been in a mood to talk about it, so I'm thinking that we have a major problem."

"No, it's going to be fine. Trust me, Jess and I have our share of dad issues, but he's been doing really good since he came back here. And you missy are the reason for that, so believe me when I tell you, he is not lost, the boy you know is still in there, we just have to do a teeny bit of excavating to pull him back out again. Everything will be fine."

"I really hope that you're right." Rory replied, as Joy wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I've been doing this for years. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at it. Besides, I got him talking to you again, didn't I?"

"I didn't abandon him for sixteen years." Rory countered.

"True. Eh, it's just an extra challenge, no biggie."

* * *

"But it was." Rory added.

"I don't get it, where was Jimmy all that time?" Lo asked. Most of her actual relatives had their respective titles, but one look at Jimmy, would tell anyone he was not the kind of guy you called 'grandpa' or 'pop'. He had always just been Jimmy.

"Pretty much all over." Jess replied. "He'd lived in a lot of different places, and that was the first time I met him, without officially meeting him."

"So how is it that we see him all the time now?"

"Because of what happened next."

* * *

"I hear you had a surprise guest." Happy made her presence known as she approached Jess. He sitting on the bridge, giving a swan death glares.

"If you want to call it that. Although I'm pretty sure a surprise guest wouldn't run off before actually announcing one's self, but you never know, maybe my dictionary's out of date."

"You're not taking it well then, I see."

"Would you be? If Stephen were to show up on your doorstep, you tell me you wouldn't be as pissed off as I am."

"No, I get it, believe me I do. But see, Rory, while she may have some experience with a dead-beat dad, doesn't have our extent of know-how. Which I can tell you I am thrilled about, that girl is way too sweet to be filled with as much darkness as you and I. Because of that though, she doesn't understand how to help you right now. But you can't just shut her out again. That isn't fair on her."

"I know. It's not… I don't know what I'm supposed to say to her."

"Just tell her how you feel. All she wants is for you to talk to her."

"I know where he is." Jess replied after a moment. "He lives in California, and Luke gave me his address but I don't know what to do with it."

"You don't have to do anything with it. You can forget about him, like he seems to have done for your whole life. Or you could go and see him. Maybe if you actually talk to the guy you'll know how you're supposed to deal with all this stuff I know you're thinking but you won't tell me."

"How can I go there? I have school and Rory and…"

"And you don't want to give him another chance to abandon you. But, you see if you go there then you get to do the walking away, if that's what you think is best. I don't want you to go, god knows that Stars freaking Hollow is far enough away from home, but if this is what you need to do, then I'm totally going to support you. And I'm sure Rory will too."

"What d'you have a little microphone on you somewhere?" Jess joked and Joy breathed a sigh of relief, if he was cracking jokes, then she was making a little progress. "Is she talking in your ear, agreeing with everything you say to me?"

"No. But we've talked extensively about you and I'm pretty sure I know what she's thinking as well as what you're thinking. You know how I'm gifted and all."

"Yeah, I remember." He nodded, thinking back over all the times she was able to talk him off one ledge or another – metaphorically speaking of course. "Ok, well I guess I've got some thinking to do."

"More thinking?" Happy asked, an evil grin growing on her face. "No, you have some swimming to do." She replied, before pushing him off the bridge. Just before he hit the water, Jess reached up and grabbed her ankle, pulling her in with him as she screamed at him to let her go.

* * *

"After talking to Luke very briefly and then to your mom I made the decision to go and meet my father properly. That was the other time I left, remember how I said-"

"But she knew where you were going and why?" Lo asked.

"Yeah."

"That's ok, daddy. It was good you talked to mommy first that time." Emma told him, nodding.

* * *

Rory hadn't wanted him to go. She was afraid that if he did, things would change and their relationship wouldn't survive it.

But she knew deep down that he needed to go. His father had been in town and hadn't said a word, Jess needed answers as to why that was.

Luke wasn't happy about the decision either, but he had agreed that it was necessary and paid for Jess' flight across the country.

Jess wouldn't allow anyone to contact Jimmy though. He wanted to have the element of surprise on his side.

He hadn't had any warning, so why should Jimmy?

Rory had kept her cell phone in her pocket all day long waiting for Jess to call. When she pulled it out at lunch to put it on the table, Paris made fun of her being yoked to her cell.

"I am not." Rory denied as Madeline and Louise approached, followed by two juniors, carrying their lunches.

"Who are we expecting a call from?" the blonde enquired, an eyebrow raised.

"My boyfriend's flying to California and I don't want to miss him when he lands." Rory replied, shooting a glare at Paris. Who else could she blame for them being here?

"What's in Cali? Is he bringing you a present?" Madeline asked intrigued.

"No, he's just… It's a family thing."

"Huh." The two girls lost interest then as they realized the boys who had carried their trays were still hanging around. "What are you waiting for? A tip? Shoo!" Rory watched the two dejected boys walk away, before putting her cell phone back in her pocket.

Jess wasn't going to call now. He had more important things to worry about when he arrived, like where he was going to sleep.

* * *

The very second Rory stepped off Chilton grounds, her phone began to ring.

"Hello?" she asked, puzzled by the unfamiliar number.

"Hey," Jess replied.

"You're there, how is it?"

"Sunny. I've been here a couple of hours actually."

"Why didn't you call?"

"I knew you'd be in school, didn't want to get you in trouble." He explained as she followed a few people onto her bus.

"Well you timed it perfectly." Rory replied with a grin. "So, when are you coming home?"

"How about right now?"

"No. You can't do that, you have to meet him." Rory smiled as she realized that Jess hadn't objected to her calling Stars Hollow his home.

"Yeah, I know. I've walked by a couple times, but I haven't had the guts to go up and knock yet."

"Well you should do it now. Bite the bullet."

Standing at a pay phone on Venice beach, clad in his leather jacket, looking very out of place, Jess nodded. He knew Rory was right. He just needed to get it over with. "Ok. I'll give it a shot. I'll call again soon and let you know how it went."

"Good luck." Rory added just before they were disconnected.

She felt much better now. Knowing Jess had landed and was just as nervous about this as she was made her feel a lot more comfortable.

* * *

Some crazy woman standing on the roof of Jimmy's house had told Jess, she was the guy with the beard from the Wizard of Oz, guarding Emerald City, and she wouldn't tell him where Jimmy was, till he revealed who he was and what he wanted with the man.

Saying he was Jimmy's son was the 'horse of a different color' that got him through the gate.

Introducing herself as Sasha, the woman proceeded to invite him in, before she announced that she would take him to Jimmy's work.

Jess' first conversation with his father was awkward at best. Jimmy did most of the talking; he appeared to be a nervous talker. After Jess assured him he wasn't there to bust his balls, Jimmy seemed to relax, but then he was called back to The Inferno to discuss pickles.

Jess was fine waiting for him to clear up the problem, he still wasn't sure what it was he wanted to say, so having a few minutes to collect his thoughts was a good thing.

They didn't really discuss anything of substance after that. But once they got back to the house and Jimmy suggested a special knock, Jess went for a walk along the boardwalk to give him time to talk to Sasha.

"Are you in trouble?" Jimmy demanded as they sat on a bench outside a book store later that night. "When you left home, were the cops after you?"

"No."

"No 'cause they shouldn't be or no 'cause they haven't found the head yet?"

"What's up, Jimmy?" Jess knew that this conversation was leading somewhere, he just wanted it done.

"You just showed up here, man."

"I know I did."

"No call, no letter, just like –"

"Just like you showed up in Stars Hollow with no letter, no call." He returned. What he'd done may not have been fair, but neither was what Jimmy did. "And then you disappeared on me. You didn't even tell me who you were. If it weren't for my girlfriend finding your wallet, I never even would have known you'd been there!"

"Your girlfriend?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Which one was she?"

"She came in behind Luke before you went all Gilligan and raced off."

Jimmy nodded, as he thought back on the people he'd seen that day. "Oh yeah, I remember. She looked nice. Smart too."

"She is smart, she'd going to Harvard."

"Really? Wow. That is really smart."

"You still haven't told me why you came." Jess replied, standing up, "if you didn't wanna talk to me, why'd you even bother?"

"I did wanna talk to you."

"You did?"

"Of course I wanted to talk to you. You think a person travels all the way across the country just to listen to a Bowie song? Granted, a classic off Ziggy, but still."

"So…?"

"Yeah, alright I chickened out."

"Well I came to see you."

"Ok."

"I'm not in trouble, I don't need anything, money, help or anything. Maybe a place to crash for a couple of days, but I have a home and a life and I guess, I just wanted to talk to you and find out what you thought you could accomplish by coming to Stars Hollow."

"I don't even know. I mean, I just got up one morning and told Sash I was meeting a potential supplier and next thing I knew you were glaring at me and all I could think to order was coffee. You made me really nervous."

"This isn't exactly a walk in the park for me either, you know. I have no idea how you're supposed to conduct a conversation with the father you never met, but I'm here and I'm trying."

"Ok, so maybe if we start over?" Jimmy suggested.

"Ok." They each took a deep breath and then Jess sat down again, looking at his father. "I'm Jess." With that, they began a normal conversation and then returned to the house for pizza.

* * *

AN: Review!


	16. Melons & MatchMaking

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything :(**

**Can anyone believe this? I'm doing it!**

* * *

Lorelai was once again convinced she was getting scurvy, so Rory had to pick up some fruit while her mother was busy at work planning another wedding.

Standing in front of a bin of cantaloupes Rory sniffed one, trying to remember how they were supposed to smell when they were ripe.

"Not that one-" a familiar voice called out behind her. "-that one." Rory turned around to confirm her suspicions, still holding a cantaloupe. "Nice melons Mary." Tristan quipped. Rory screamed and dropped the fruit she'd been holding.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, hitting him in the chest after they hugged.

"Visiting my favorite girl, of course."

"But you're supposed to be-"

"Got out early coz I was such a well behaved little boy. Are you not happy to see me?" he asked, applying a hurt look.

"Of course I'm happy to-"

"Excuse me young lady, did you make this mess?" Taylor asked standing beside them, pointing to the smashed produce.

"I'm sorry-"

"I apologize sir," Tristan cut in, pulling out his wallet. "That was my fault, I hope this covers it." He handed Taylor a few bills. "I'd be happy to clean it up too if you'd like."

"That's quite alright young man. Just try not to let it happen again. Sam? Could you clear this up for me?" he called to another member of his staff before walking away. Rory and Tristan burst out laughing.

"I can't believe you're here! Why didn't you tell me that you were coming?"

"I wanted to make you scream." Tristan replied his voice laced with innuendo. Rory just laughed and the slightest blush touched her cheeks, his words didn't have too much of an effect on her anymore.

"Mission accomplished. Let's get out of here. We have some major catching up to do." Taking his hand, Rory led the way across the street to the diner.

With Jess out of town, Joy had volunteered to stick around to help Luke out. But because Jess wasn't there she was temporarily staying with the Gilmore's. Without having to discuss it, the girls had known Luke would be extremely uncomfortable living alone with a seventeen year old girl.

As the two friends took their seats at an empty table, Joy arrived beside them, looking Tristan over with interest. "Rory, do I have to call a certain brooding best friend of mine about this boy you're fraternizing with?"

"You can if you like, I'm sure he'd love to hear from you. But I can explain the whole situation easily. He couldn't possibly be mad at me."

"Well, I will be if you don't hurry up and introduce us."

"Sorry. Happy, Tristan – Happy is Jess' best friend, Tristan is my friend who got kicked out of Chilton." Rory explained.

"And Jess is...?" Tristan asked.

"You haven't told him?" Joy demanded, grinning. "Have I taught you nothing Rory?"

"You know who Jess is." Rory shot her friend a look. "Remember, 'this is the guy'?"

"Oh! You're _Tristan _Tristan." Joy clapped with glee as she remembered the story.

"How many people know about that night?"

"Everyone in this town and a few in Woodbury." Rory replied.

"Great. That's just great, thanks Mary."

"You still love me."

"Yeah, I guess." Tristan admitted, Rory smiled. This was the first time that word had come up in their relationship and she could tell he meant it, but she could also tell that it wasn't romantic love.

"Ok look, I don't want to have to report to Jess any of the naughty stuff you've been getting up to, so hurry up and gimmie your order so I can leave and you can get on with whatever it is you're thinking." Happy instructed, grinning. The other two quickly complied, she disappeared into the kitchen and they continued to catch up.

* * *

"You introduced him to Aunt Joy!" Emma grinned as Rory stopped for a moment. "Did they fall in love right away?"

"You'll just have to wait and see. Around that time my grandma wanted me to come out-"

"Come out? But you weren't-"

"Come out in society, debut. But I had a feeling that even if my boyfriend were in town, she wouldn't approve of him. Come to think of it, we got away with them not meeting for quite a while."

"Do you really think that was coincidence?" Jess asked, smirking.

"I did. How could you control Emily? Especially before meeting her?" he shrugged. "Anyway, I was to debut as per Emily's order's, and the most suitable escort-"

"Dirty!" chimed three voices. Rory just shook her head, continuing.

"-was Tristan. He was perfect, my grandparents loved him, he looked good in a tux, and he knew how to dance. So that was that." She looked over at Jess, he had something to say, she could see that. With a nod, she sat back and he began.

"I hadn't believed it at first, but your mom was right to worry. What I'd thought would be a few days, turned into weeks. A couple of months later I was still sleeping on the spare mattress they kept in the closet, I was working with Jimmy at The Inferno, and I'd started working on getting my GED.

* * *

It wasn't the ideal situation, and Jess was seriously missing Rory. But this was important.

He'd spent his entire life with very little parental supervision. Liz was barely ever there and even when she was, she wasn't really _there._ Happy's mom looked in on him at times, but it wasn't the same.

So given the chance to get to know Jimmy and his family, Jess held on tight with both hands.

With an entire continent stretching between them, Rory and Jess inevitably drifted apart in the months following his departure.

Neither of them wanted to admit it, but the distance was destroying them and as much as he wanted to return home to Rory, Jess knew if he did then there was a chance that even that wouldn't save them.

So he stayed put.

Months turned into a year and finally they ended it.

* * *

Rory sat in Finn's SUV as he drove to school. Aside from a quick greeting, she was yet to speak. The night before Jess had called and they had ended their relationship.

Now it was over and she couldn't think of any words to say to Finn. He didn't seem to mind though; he was chatting away about something and hadn't noticed her mood. Until they reached a red light and her silence finally registered.

"Is there something wrong, Kitten?"

"I thought I could hear it…" she whispered.

"Rory? I didn't catch that."

"I thought I could hear it," She repeated, louder.

Finn instantly understood. When he asked her if there had been anyone she'd ever 'heard it' with, he meant Jess, but Rory hadn't known that. "So was he supposed to say it by now? Need me to have a little talk with him?"

"We broke up last night. But I was sure it would happen." She wouldn't let herself cry now. After she told her mom she'd cried herself to sleep, but she wouldn't do it now.

She knew that she loved Jess, but she wasn't sure if she could say it, so she'd been waiting, just for a little while to see if he felt the same way. If he hadn't told her soon she was going to do it anyway. But now she wouldn't have the chance.

"I'm so sorry Love." Finn told her, pulling her into a hug as someone behind them beeped their horn. "Damn, keep your pants on!" Finn yelled out the window as he steered the car through the intersection, pulling over to the side of the road the first chance he got. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Just stay close and if I look like I'm about to lose it, get me out of there."

"Done. Are you sure you want to go to school though?"

Rory nodded, emphatically. "I have to. I can't just sit around the house all day thinking about him. I've been doing it for months and it really sucks. I need to just get on with things."

"Alright, if you insist." Rory nodded again and Finn started the car, continuing their journey to school.

* * *

"I once told your grandma that I wasn't naïve enough to believe we would make it just because we wanted to. But a part of me did hope that would be enough. So when I made that decision to call and end things, I couldn't help thinking that Lorelai had won. She'd never wanted us together and I was too far away to really fight against her or the rest of the people who disliked me. They all said it was a good thing, and they were happy for me and Rory, but deep down no one thought I was good enough for her, so they were all thrilled when I left and even more so when news of our break-up began to circulate.

"Why didn't you just come home? Couldn't you have still worked on your relationship with Jimmy from here?"

"I guess I could have, but at the time I didn't think that would work. So I made the sacrifice that I spent months regretting and stayed with him, leaving your mom alone, and in my mind, probably hating me.

* * *

Months passed by and Rory stopped asking Luke about Jess. When she spoke to Joy, they both ignored the subject and discussed other things; but he was always there in the back of her mind whenever she spoke with someone who was in some way connected to him.

Once again she relied heavily on Finn to keep her entertained, but he knew better than to try and coerce her back into dating. He'd seen her the whole way through her time with Jess and knew that they really had something. That wasn't going to go away just because he had.

He endeavored to keep her spirits up in the hopes that she would be able to get over the boy who had taken her heart to California with him. Tristan was a big help in her recovery as well. His father had managed to get him back into Chilton on the proviso that he stay out of trouble. After his stint in military school, there was nothing Tristan wanted less than to repeat the actions that found him living in the south for twelve months, so he stuck to the straight and narrow as best he could with a little help from his friends.

Six months after their break-up the boys – who had been monitoring Rory as closely as Lorelai and even Luke – found that she had made some big improvements. She came out with them and her other friends more, and her smile was getting closer and closer to reaching her eyes.

Rory had been so wrapped up in her own dramas that she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary happening with anyone else. Finn had been such a big part of her life, and it wasn't until he started to back off that she realized something was wrong and she discovered how strange things were without. She called him on it, unsure of what she had done to push him away.

"It's nothing that you did, Rory. Trust me. I just… I think we need some space for now, is all."

"I don't understand why. Everything's been so great, are you sure it wasn't me? Because I know I must be a bit of a pain right now with all my whining about-"

"I promise your whining hasn't bothered me in the slightest. I need some time, that's it."

"Finn I don't want you to be upset with me. Can you please just tell me what's bothering you so I can fix it? I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me. If I could, I'd stick by your side forever, but right now I really can't do that, and I just need you to trust me, and let me take some time for myself."

"I do trust you, but I can't do that. Who's supposed to keep me sane if you're off finding yourself?"

"Tristan-"

"Tristan hasn't been there with me through everything. You have. I need you."

"I… Rory I can't… You don't understand…"

"Then explain it to me."

"No. I'm sorry. I can't do that. I just need to be alone for awhile. You have to accept that, alright? I don't feel like being a sidekick right now. So just… Go and find someone else to hang on your every word. I've gotta go."

Rory watched him walk away, completely stunned. He had never said a harsh word to her in all the time they'd known each other. Sure there had been times he'd said things that weren't exactly pleasant, but this just didn't sound anything like her friend.

* * *

"No way! Did he fall in love with you too?" Lo asked, anticipating what was coming next. She knew her mother was beautiful and smart, and just about everyone who met her, liked her. But this was just getting crazy. In two years she'd had five boys fall for her, and the story – from what she could tell – was far from over.

"No. Not everyone fell in love with me. Or if they did, they didn't share that much info. But, I admit my life did sort of resemble a soap opera at times. I couldn't understand what anyone saw in me."

"You've clearly never been inside the brain of a teenage boy." Jess remarked and Rory looked at him strangely.

"No. I haven't. I would have thought that would be obvious."

"Ok, people, we're getting off track here. What happened with Finn? Was he really falling for you?" Lo demanded. She'd never suspected there had been something between the two. The way he talked to her mom was the same way he talked to her grandmother and all her 'aunts'. She'd never even thought there was a possibility before now.

"Well, I gave him the space he wanted; partly because I was in too much shock to talk to him. But I didn't want to lose him, so I sent in an ally to see what was really wrong."

* * *

"This is stupid, Rory!" Tristan announced, as they walked down the hall, having both just been ignored by Finn. The boys were still friends, but whenever Rory was with Tristan, they ceased to exist.

"You think I don't know that? I'm not the one acting like a two-year old here. Finn's just being…"

"A dick. It's ok, you can say it."

Rory stopped beside her locker and handed Tristan a stack of books as she fiddled with the lock. "Would you do something for me?" she asked turning and giving him the Bambi eyes.

Tristan sighed. "What do you want me to say to him?"

"Whatever you think is necessary. I just need to know why he's being this way. I mean, I've thought about it, and maybe it's something to do with his parents putting pressure on him to do better in school. But, if that were it he would tell me right?"

"Right."

"So it's got to be something more complex. And you're his best friend, so if he won't tell me, I'm sure he'll tell you.

"Ok, fine. I'll try and catch him this afternoon. Do you want to wait around for me? I'll fill you in on the whole pow-wow on the way home."

"That would be great. I need to check some stuff in the library anyway, so I'll just meet you at your car around three-thirty?"

"Yeah. Sounds good. I'll see you then." As the warning bell rang, he handed back her books and headed down the hall to his last class. Rory turned in the direction of the library. She had a free period and wanted to do her studying now so that she could try and catch a part of the conversation between the two boys.

Under normal circumstances she wouldn't dream of eavesdropping, but this wasn't normal. And as much as she trusted Tristan, she didn't really believe he would tell her everything she needed to hear. He would probably censor part of what Finn had to say in order to keep from hurting her feelings. But she wanted the whole truth and that's what she was going to get.

* * *

Keeping her distance, Rory walked behind the two boys as they moved from their classroom to one that had remained unoccupied for the last fifty minutes. Tristan shut the door behind him and Rory pressed herself against the wall, hoping they would enunciate enough for her to hear what was going on.

"I really want to hit you right now, did you know that?" Tristan began and Rory had to stifle a laugh. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he made it feel a little better.

"You go right ahead mate. I'm sure the things you're thinking of doing to me are no worse than the things I've already imagined doing to myself."

"Rory's freaking out right now. She can't figure out why you've turned into… this. Can't you see that she needs you at the moment? She is still really fragile after Jess and being abandoned by one of her best friends really won't help her deal with the fact that her boyfriend ran off to California."

"It's not my fault he left. And I can't possibly be expected to baby sit her every minute of every day. She'd not my responsibility, so just get over it and let me life my life, alright?"

Rory bit back tears as she heard Finn take steps towards the door. But before he got far, there was a bang and she could imagine Tristan shoving him against a wall. "Ok, I'm done asking and being nice here. You will tell me now what the hell your problem is, so that I can go back to my friend and assure her that she doesn't possess some sort of repellent."

"She didn't… It's nothing that Rory did," Finn finally replied. "I just thought that…" the next thing he said was too quiet and no matter how hard she strained her ears, Rory couldn't hear it.

"Finn, shut up. You're being an idiot." Tristan told him.

"Oy! That's not very nice! Did I smack you over the head and tell you, you were an idiot when you confessed to being in love with her? No! So lay off it mate."

"You're not in love with her." The blonde replied as Rory clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from making any noise. This was unbelievable.

"How the bloody hell would you know?"

"Because I've been here with the two of you; watching. You may love her, but you're not _in_ love with her. You feel about Rory the same way that I do." Finn muttered something that Rory didn't understand, and then Tristan was speaking again. "Clearly you don't. Those feelings I had, they are gone. One hundred per cent. Let me ask you, you feel like you want to protect her, right?" Once again Finn's reply was too quiet, but Tristan continued at a more suitable volume moments later. "And you enjoy spending time together? Making her laugh?"

"Yes. All things which indicate-"

"In your mind, she's like a little sister."

"Say what now?"

"You care about this girl a lot and feel very close to her. But those are not romantic feelings you're having. She's family, I know you know that."

Out in the hall Rory could picture the wheels in Finn's brain turning as he processed this information. "So… if I stay friends with her, things will be ok? I'm not suddenly going to want to get drunk and kiss her?"

"You might, I can't tell you that. I mean, she's Rory. There will probably be a few times in all of our lives when we want to do that. But I am sure that you can still be friends. I will suggest that you talk to her about this though. Because like I said, she's got no idea what's going on with you right now and I have to go and tell her. But I can hold back, if you want to tell her yourself."

"I really have to tell her, don't I?" The Australian asked, glumly.

"Yes you do. Go home, think it over and I know you'll understand the things I told you. Then once you've regained your grip on reality, call her, beg for forgiveness and ask if you can come over to explain. Got it?"

Rory heard the two of them moving towards the door so she picked up her back pack and bolted down the hall, hoping to get to Tristan's car and regain her breath before he arrived.

* * *

"I was so proud of myself. I managed to act as if I hadn't known anything Tristan told me on the drive home. At least I think I did. Finn did as he was told; we talked at length about his conversation with Tristan. And after that we all just went back to normal. We all hung out as usual and the two of them even went back to sharing more than I wanted to hear about their personal lives. And that was how I learned about Tristan and Joy."

* * *

"She totally wants me, this girl is so-"

"Tris, please. Enough. I don't want to hear anything about the newest girl to fall for your charms. I'm sure she's great, but once you've heard about it once, the rest are all the same."

"No, no, no. Mary, this girl… She's not like the others. You should know that."

"How am I supposed to know that?" Rory asked as Finn laughed.

"Because you introduced us," he explained happily.

"I've only ever…" she thought back over the people Tristan had met with her, Lane and Joy were the only girls that came to mind. And Lane was totally falling in love with Dave which only left… "Jess is going to kill you." She told him, grinning.

That was until she realized what she had said, and then she frowned. Jess hadn't been mentioned in a long time; aside from when the boys were arguing, but now she knew she would spend the rest of the day thinking about him.

"Yeah about that, any ideas on how we could avoid my death at the hands of the very dark and broody Mr. Mariano?"

"Well, there's the obvious; stay away from his best friend." Finn stated, pretending to be helpful.

"Aside from that?"

"You don't have anything to worry about." Rory replied. "They may be really close, but Joy has her own mind and besides Jess is on the other side of the country. There isn't anything he could really do to you if you did choose to pursue something with her."

"That's good to know, because she really-"

"Stop! I love you both, but I do not ever want to hear any of the details, got it?"

"Ok, fine. If you'll excuse us, I have to borrow Finn. We have a few things to discuss." Rory groaned as the two boys walked away. She knew that wouldn't be the last she heard of these things. Joy probably wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut either.

* * *

Things were pretty much back to normal for everyone at that point. The weirdest thing Rory had to deal with was one of her best friends was dating her ex's best friend long distance. But aside from that everything was good. Even her dad was making more of an effort to be involved.

Christopher Hayden had recently driven back into his daughter's life, straddling a 2000 Indian. He wanted to be in her life, he said. He wanted the three of them to be a family. This wasn't too much of a surprise, as he'd been popping in and out more frequently in the past year, but something about his presence seemed more permanent this time around.

He'd recently broken up with another girlfriend, which he said was what had really prompted him to come back, but deep down, he promised, Sherry was only the tip of the ice berg. This was where he wanted to be.

Lorelai had been a little apprehensive at first, but after a few days she'd bounced back. "It might really happen this time, kid." She gushed, sitting on Rory's bed. She'd admitted that in the past the relationship had soured due to some mistakes on her part, as well as his. But they'd both done a lot of growing up in the past decade and a half.

"You know I'm on your side; whatever happens." Rory replied.

"I don't think you'll need to pick a side. Things are looking up. I think this will work out."

Seeing her mom so happy made Rory feel good, but it also worried her. If things didn't go Lorelai's way, it really could crush her and Rory didn't want to see that.

"I'm exhausted. I'm gonna go to bed, you staying up for a bit?" Lorelai asked, standing up.

"Yeah, I might read for a while." Rory replied, moving towards her book case. She really wasn't in the mood for reading, or studying. The one thing she wanted to do at the moment was talk to her father.

"Ok, well I'll see you in the morning. We'll all go for breakfast, k?"

"Sounds good. Night Mom."

"Night babe." Lorelai left the room with a smile on her face, and Rory waited a few minutes until she heard her upstairs moving around her room. She put the book she'd been looking at, but not really seeing, back onto the shelf and headed out to the living room where Chris was preparing the couch.

"Hey Kiddo, what's up?"

"I was hoping we could talk?"

"Yeah sure, what's on your mind?"

"You. And Mom. I'm just wondering, what's going on with you guys... What exactly are your intentions?"

"Excuse me?" Christopher looked mystified; this was not a normal conversation for a father and daughter to be having. But then again, they weren't a normal father and daughter.

"Your intentions – towards Mom, us - are they honorable?"

"Completely honorable." He looked more sure saying that, than he had ever before.

"Yeah? Because we have been waiting for this for a really long time and we take disappointment extremely hard." Rory explained. It was true, as a kid there was nothing she wanted more than for her parents to be together, and she knew that her mom wanted it too. "I mean it, property damage is often involved."

"Well, I better follow through on this, huh?"

"I think that's an excellent idea. As long as you're sure that there's nothing that's going to be getting in the way..." Rory added. She knew he understood what she was saying, even if she didn't spell it out.

"I'm sure. This is my priority now. You and your mom."

"Good."

* * *

"But we all know that as much as he may have wanted it to work, the universe was conspiring against him. Because at that very moment, Sherry was in Boston, and on the day of Sookie and Jackson's wedding, she called to tell him she was pregnant with Gigi."

Gigi wasn't a big part of their lives, which in a way made Rory sad, she knew she should know her sister better, but there was just a part of her that refused to let go of everything and bond with the woman. She knew it wasn't her fault, but still...

"Things got better over the years and Dad made more efforts to include us in his life, even when I was trying to shut him out, he wouldn't let it happen. And that's pretty much all you need to know about my father." Rory concluded. "Tomorrow night: what your father got up to while he was lose on the Venice Beach boardwalk." She added in a bad TV voiceover impersonation.

"When did I agree to that?" Jess asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Right around the time you told your darling daughter you'd share your side of this happy little fairytale." Lo chimed in, beaming at him.

"Oh, right. Now I remember. Fine, I'll start concocting a good story, but don't be surprised if you fall asleep from boredom. My life wasn't filled with as many interesting things as your mom's." He explained, grinning as he watched Emma fight to keep her eyes open. They were done for the night, but she still didn't want to miss a thing, she demanded every night that nothing be told without her and whenever it were suggested she go to bed, she would deny being tired (usually while stifling a very big yawn) and say to continue.

"Come on sweet pea, let's get you to bed, ok?" Rory took Emma's hand and began to lead her over to Jess before taking her out of the room.

"But I don't want-"

"I promise you won't miss anything. Daddy and I are tired now anyway, so we're all going to bed. But you heard him; he's going to tell you what he did with Jimmy tomorrow. Doesn't that sound fun?" she asked as her daughter climbed into bed and sleepily pulled up the covers.

"Yeah!" her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, but then she looked back up at her mom. "I don't like this part though."

"You don't?"

"No. Daddy's not with you and Grandma's sad because of Poppy and she doesn't know that Grandpa loves her, does she?"

"No. She doesn't. He doesn't even know yet. But you know their story. And you know it has a happy... well, they aren't at their end yet, so middle, I guess."

"That's good. I like when you're all happy."

"I like us all happy too, especially you and your sister."

"We are Mom, don't worry." Lo announced and Rory turned to see her leaning against the doorway in a stance that, aside from her being a girl, looked a lot like one her father frequently adopted. "I thought I'd come say good night. If you can manage to keep your eyes open long enough for a hug Emmy-Lou." Lo added as Emma released another big yawn, nodding her head vigorously. Laughing quietly Charlotte crossed the room and enfolded her sister in a hug, before kissing her temple. "G'night. I love you." She added as the younger girl sank into her pillows mouthing a reply.

Rory draped an arm around her shoulders as they left the room. "So tell me the truth, are you really happy or are you just rehearsing what we told you to say when Child Protective Services show up?"

"Oh no, I'm practicing. Did you really buy it?"

"Yeah, good job; you definitely sounded like a teenager who likes living with her parents, as opposed to someone who can't wait to get out of the freak show she'd been raised in."

"Good. I'm finally nailing my performance. I wonder how much longer it'll be before I have to use it for real." They both started to laugh as they re-entered the living room to find Jess folding up blankets.

"What are you two laughing at? Did Chris put a kick me sign on my back again?" he asked, trying to see over his shoulder.

"No, you're fine." Rory told him, coming over to give him a kiss. Smiling sweetly at him, she lifted her foot and playfully kicked him in the shin. "But now you've planted the idea in my head, I just can't resist." She added, kicking him again.

"Mom, that's not very fair." Lo told her, supposedly moving to her father's defense.

"Thank you-"

"You didn't ask if I wanted to play." She continued, following her mother's lead and joining in.

"This is abuse! I could report the two of you." They both wrapped their arms around him and started muttering apologies. "No, no. It's too late for that. I'm going to bed now. Away from you evil Gilmore women." He added, before stomping up the stairs. The two left in the room just dissolved into giggles again.

* * *

**Vera-Cobb - Re ch 13: Thank you so much! And yes, that was stolen from VM, I just couldn't resist.**

**nuttzZ1 - that end bit was for you, I'll try and do a bit better on the Rory/Em scenes though, I'm just getting started.**

**I'm glad Joy is being so well recieved. I love her and she's so much fun in my head, so the fact that you all like her makes me very happy. Thans for your reviews, keep 'em coming!**


	17. I Love You

**Oh. My. God! two updates in a day? Well, that's not going to last long, but enjoy.**

**So, I was listening to Tusk as I wrote the begining of this chapter, but since I don't know what Stevie Nicks looks like, I was picturing a young Stevie Hall (Mcleod's Daughters) Also, teensy bit of language in here, but I figure having Finn as an uncle, the girls probably would have heard a few words like this in their lifetime.**

**Also, I recieved a very big compliment yeterday, in regards to this chapter. Kassandra27 told me that as she was reading, she forgot to edit, which I thought was really cool. So I hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

They were sitting in the living room, rugged up, with a small fire going. Rory and Jess taking turns recounting their history had become the Mariano's nightly routine, replacing the earlier one of sitting, rugged up, reading.

Lo hadn't had time for recreational reading of late, but she really didn't mind. Learning the details of her parent's lives as teenagers was more important than rereading 'Please Kill Me' or 'Ella Minnow Pea'.

Especially since her dad was about to start talking about his time with his father on the west coast.

"So we all had to adjust to a lot of changes. I think it was easiest for Lily, she'd put in a written request for a brother by the end of the year, and then I arrived on the scene. Sash really didn't… well no, I mean I'm sure she liked me well enough, but still she took a while to come around. That was mostly on me though; I still wasn't very warm and fuzzy.

"But Jimmy and I just sort of had this understanding. We'd had our talk that night on the boardwalk and we didn't need to discuss why I was there again. There was this one day; we were working side by side at the Inferno, just getting along, everything was really good. Well for us, anyway…

* * *

"Looks like trouble in paradise," Jimmy commented, standing beside his son, looking towards a couple of regular customers. The guy was screaming at his girlfriend, as usual. But this time it looked even more intense.

Jess didn't reply, he just narrowed his eyes as the bleach-blonde surfer dudes voice reached an even higher pitch and his arms started whirling around. He looked as if he was trying to take flight.

"Just get lost Paul!" Stevie – that was her name – yelled at the boy before stomping away from him, over to the counter. Jimmy stepped away to deal with something else and Jess was left waiting to see if she wanted to order anything. Without a word, Stevie reached across the counter, grabbed a fistful of Jess' shirt and kissed him.

He had never kissed anyone with a tongue piercing before. That was very different. And how had he never noticed she had her tongue pierced? Must've been 'cause Paul usually did all the talking. In the months that Jess had been serving up hot dogs he'd barely heard two words out of this girl's mouth.

"Is he watching?" she whispered, pulling back just a few inches. Jess was still in a state of shock – why did girls just keep kissing him without warning? He glanced over her shoulder to see Paul glaring back.

"Yeah,"

"Good." She moved to kiss him again, but he was expecting it that time and pulled back quicker than before, taking hold of her wrist he began pull her along with him as he walked towards the 'door'.

"I'll be back." He informed Lee, before leaving and dragging Stevie along with him. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, once they were a suitable distance away. Paul had stormed off while Jess had been pulling the girl behind him.

"You have a girlfriend don't you? And now she's gonna be mad, even though you didn't do that." She was starting to panic, the look on her face was enough to tell him that, but then taking in her voice as well, she was clearly upset. "Oh, shit. I'm a shit!"

"You- You're not a shit. A nut case maybe, would you just calm down?" Stevie took a breath, trying to do that, and Jess stayed quiet for a moment. "So, what exactly was the big idea there?" he asked after awhile.

"I just wanted to piss Paul off. He's an asshole and… but I'll talk to her and tell her it was all on me."

"I don't have a girlfriend, so stop freaking out about that, ok?" Jess replied. Aside from making quick mention to his 'family' that he'd broken up with Rory that was the first time he'd admitted that fact.

"You don't? Wow. You look like… I don't know, like you've got someone you're totally in to." Tucking a piece of her red curly hair behind her ear, Stevie chewed her lip, reminding Jess so much of Rory. They looked nothing alike, but her mannerisms were very similar. "Ok, well that's great, you're single. Cool, ok, well once I get around to dumping that bum I'll be back. See you round… What's your name anyway?"

"Jess," he replied reluctantly. He did not want this girl coming back for him, but he did want her to dump 'the bum'. He'd known a lot of men like Paul growing up, and none of them had been good guys.

"Right, later Jess." She walked away leaving him wondering how he could avoid getting involved in things like this in the future.

He'd been living with his father for almost eighteen months, his life was on track, he was tantalizingly close to holding a high school diploma, but none of it seemed to matter.

Things were good. But when it was late at night and he couldn't sleep, Jess would lie in bed and think of where he wanted to be. He could see it clearly, feel the wood beneath him, the breeze against his skin, but he didn't know if he could go back there.

The one thing he wanted more than anything; more than a job, more than a relationship with his dad, more than a diploma, was to go back and make things right with Rory. Breaking up with her had been hard, but pretending that everything would be ok even while they were separated by three thousand miles was even harder.

* * *

"The day I called and ended it, I'd only just that morning become fully aware of the fact that I was in love with her." Jess explained. "I'd always known I had feelings for her, and they just intensified when we started dating. But that day I'd figured it out, and it really scared me. I didn't know how to deal with those feelings, so I called the person who had been helping me get through everything for as long as I could remember."

* * *

"Hello?"

"I need your help, Happy." Jess pleaded as soon as she picked up.

"Jess, what's wrong?"

"I don't know… I can't do it anymore, not like this, but I don't know how…"

"Slow down, you're not making any sense."

"Rory."

"You don't know if you can… Oh. Jess, tell me what you're thinking here." She sounded worried, and rightfully so. He was not in a good place. "Why can't you do this? It's been a year, you're doing it."

"I love her." He admitted for the first time out loud.

Happy was silent for a beat. "That's usually a good thing, and normally not a reason to end the relationship."

"But it's not fair. I love her and I'm hurting her by staying here."

"So come-"

"I can't. Not yet."

"Alright, you can't come home, so just call Rory and tell her. I'm pretty sure that she would enjoy that kind of a phone call.

"Tell her?"

"Tell her. Trust me on this Mariano, this is a good thing. You guys are perfect for one another. Tell her."

* * *

He'd hung up from that phone call and spent most of the day trying to work out how he could go about having the conversation he needed to have with Rory. Eventually he picked up the phone again and heard her voice.

She sounded happy. Being apart was hard, but when they talked, things were better.

Their conversation was pretty much the same as always; she asked how things were there, he asked about school, Luke, her mom. But just as he was preparing himself to say it, he lost his nerve.

"Rory, I…"

"What's wrong? You sound funny."

"I don't… I don't think this is working." he shook his head. He had never officially broken up with a girl before. It had always just been something that both of them understood was coming.

But this wouldn't be something she was expecting.

"You…?"

"I think maybe we were too optimistic. I mean, we're young and it's probably not the best time to be tied down in a relationship, you know?"

"I don't understand… I thought things were ok, not great but... Don't you care about me anymore?"

'_This is it, perfect time to tell her and take back everything you just said. Fix it!_' Jess thought. "It's just too hard. We should end things now, I think. Before anyone gets hurt."

"I… Ok. Bye."

"Rory, please try to -" she hung up before he could get her to listen.

* * *

And that was the last time they'd spoken. It had been about six months since he'd heard her voice outside his dreams, and so much longer since he'd seen her.

Joy had been so angry when she found out what he'd done. She called and yelled at him for over an hour, but it didn't matter. There was nothing she could say that would make him feel worse then he already did.

And now he was standing at the grill of his dad's business, having just been kissed by some girl he knew nothing about, trying to work, and not think about the girl he'd spent the better part of a year and a half thinking about.

No such luck.

"Jimmy I gotta go." He informed the man inspecting a jar of pickles. The supplier he'd gotten the labels from swore they were the same as the ones in the jar, the ones he'd paid all that extra money for, but still, Jimmy was never sure. He personally inspected each one before he allowed any jar to be opened.

"You got somewhere else to be?"

"Stars Hollow."

"Oh."

"I have to… I need to fix it."

"Right, ok. No problem, when are you leaving?"

"I'm not sure. I guess when I get home I'll call the airport, see when the next flight is."

"Ok, sure. Yeah, make sure you let me know before you go though, k?"

"I will. I'll talk to you later."

"Ok." Jess quickly prepared himself to leave The Inferno. Before he did though, he glanced around one more time. There was a very good chance he wouldn't be back here for a long time.

With that he began walking in the direction of the place he'd been calling home. It wasn't though.

Home was very far from where he was, and he wanted to get there as soon as possible.

* * *

"Sasha was at the house when I got there, I quickly told her that I needed to go, but didn't really explain too much. She just nodded, handed me the phone and called out for Lily, telling her that they were going for a walk. I had to call a couple of airlines, but I eventually found a flight leaving early the next morning. After I'd booked a severely over-priced seat, I called Luke to tell him when I would be landing. He was understandably surprised to hear from me. We didn't talk all that much and I was suddenly calling to tell him I was coming back. Again. But he said he would be there to pick me up. And I've got to say, I'm really glad that no one asked me any questions at this point, because I'm not sure how much I would have been able to say. I don't think even I knew exactly what I was doing."

"Grandpa Luke actually came over to let me know what was going on." Rory added. "He said he didn't want me to be ambushed, but even with that warning, I was in no way prepared for the next time I saw your dad."

* * *

The firelight festival was in full swing, and Rory was having the best time showing two of her best friends, Tristan and Finn, around. They had just left Lane watching Dave, Zach and Brian play near the gazebo.

The Korean had recently 'discovered' a flier for a Christian trio looking for gigs and Mama Kim decided to hire them to play at a bible study meeting. She liked them so much she recommended them to Taylor for the festival. Being as afraid of her as everyone else in town, Taylor quickly agreed, and that lead to Lane being able to watch her boyfriend play in their band.

"Ok, so I say we hit the carts and then we'll grab burgers and meet Lane and the guys at the bonfire. Sound good?"

"Whatever you say Doll. You're the tour guide here." Finn replied as Tristan nodded his head in agreement.

"I love it when you relinquish all control to me." She grinned as she took a hold of each of their hands and began to pull them towards the carts.

"I don't remember relinquishing _all_ control." Finn looked worried.

"You realize that you told a Gilmore she's in charge, right?" Tristan asked.

"Yes…"

"There's your surrender of power."

"Listen to Satan. He's been in the family a smidgen longer than you. Although I would have expected you to figure this out, seeing as Tristan missed an entire year in my presence."

"Sorry to disappoint, I must have missed a few days of the tutorial."

"That's alright you'll catch up."

They were halfway through with the carts when Rory looked away from the two bickering boys, her laughter dying on the wind as she came face to face with Jess.

Luke had told her he would be back. She knew she would see him sooner or later, but there had been a part of her that was hoping, praying, pleading for it to be later. Much later.

"Rory are you…" Finn trailed off as he realized what she was staring at. Or rather, who.

"When did Jess get back?" Tristan asked as the brunette began taking steps towards the trio.

"What are you doing here?" Rory demanded as soon as he stood in front of her.

"I wanna talk to you."

"About what? What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Could we go somewhere a little more private?"

"You know, since Luke told me you were going to be coming back here again, I've been trying to picture this moment. What would Jess say to me when I saw him again? I mean, he just broke up with me over the phone, no reason, just some lame excuses, how could he explain that? And then six months went by. No word, nothing, so he couldn't possibly have a good excuse for that right? I have imagined hundreds of different scenarios with a hundred different great last parting lines, and I have to tell you that I am actually very curious to see which way this is going to go."

Out of the corner of her eye Rory could see her friends inching away. She wanted to call them back to support her, but she also wanted this explanation and she knew he wouldn't give it with them glued to her side.

"Could we sit down?" he asked quietly.

"No. You wanted to talk, so talk. What do you have to say to me?"

Jess paused for a second. "I love you." He finally told her.

Rory was stunned. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to determine if she had really heard those three words come out of his mouth.

"You… I… Why did you leave?" she asked, trying to make sense of her thoughts. She had so many questions, why not start from the beginning?

"I had to see Jimmy, you knew that."

"You can't get frustrated with me! You're the one that just dropped Hiroshima on me."

"Ok, I'm sorry,"

"Why did you… If you- I don't understand, if you love me why did we have to break up?"

"I thought it was better that way. I thought I was hurting you, by being so far away and if I just ended it, then you'd be better off."

"You didn't think that maybe that was worth a discussion? I might have had a few opinions on the subject, you know."

"I know. I am sorry, it was stupid. But Rory, I love you. And I don't want to be that idiot anymore. I just want to be here with you."

Biting her lip, Rory turned and walked away.

* * *

"WHAT?!?!" the girls yelled in unison. Rory ducked her head, trying to hide from their glares, but that was pretty impossible seeing as how close they all were in the room.

"You walked away? Are you insane?" Lo demanded.

"That's what I was thinking," Jess spoke up. "I mean, there I was, pouring my heart out and she just walked away. I figured she was either a stone-cold bitch-" Rory shot him a look. "Sorry. Or she was just crazy. Actually, at that moment, I was thinking that I was crazy. Maybe I had imagined how she felt and so my feelings were based on a fantasy. But I didn't think that was true."

"He surprised me. I really hadn't been expecting to hear that." Rory tried to defend herself. "We hadn't spoken in months and the last time was when he dumped me. So really, my shock was totally justified."

"I will be eternally grateful to Finn though. That guy is the reason that you girls are here today." Jess added.

"Oh, you're not about to tell us that he's our biological father are you?" Lo asked, grimacing. Emma started to laugh within seconds. _That_ was crazy.

"No. He saved us."

* * *

Rory left the town square, forgetting about the festival, the bonfire, and the plans she'd made earlier.

All she wanted now was to get home to hide and think.

Was this really happening? Had Jess really just said those words?

"Rory wait!" her first instinct was to run, but then the voice calling out to her registered and she slowed down. Finn was not a threat right now. Jess was the only one who needed to be avoided. "When did you learn to run like that?"

"Was I running?" she asked, she hadn't noticed, but looking around she realized she had gotten further than if she'd simply been walking. And she was a little out of breath.

"You were, and very fast at that. Are you ok, sweetness? We've never seen you move like that."

"Did you hear him?"

"No. We thought it best to stay away while you two talked. What did he say to you?" Finn was very concerned. The last time this guy upset her, it had taken months for her to return to normal.

"I love you."

"Well, that's very nice. I'm quite fond of you too, but we were talking about Jess."

"He said 'I love you'. He just showed up and told me that he loves me."

"That's a good thing, isn't it? You wanted him to say it; you could hear it, remember?"

"I thought I could, but that was a long time ago. He has no right to spring that on me." Finn took hold of Rory's arm and pulled her towards the porch steps. She'd run almost the whole way home.

"If what he said is true, then really, I think he had every right to say it. If he really does love you, then yes, he should have told you. Even if you hadn't been fully prepared for it."

"How can you be on his side?"

"I'm not taking sides, but I sympathize with the guy. I've been in his position and I understand the burden of keeping that sort of thing to yourself. When it comes to that, it's best to share how you're feeling."

"But you never-"

"Not with you, no, Tristan smacked that thought out of me - quite literally. But I can identify with him. Rory, you're an amazing person and I'm sure Jess won't be the last guy to fall for you. But I think he was being genuine and you very possibly just broke the poor boy's heart by walking away."

"And now what, I'm just supposed to go back there and tell him I love him too and we'll live happily ever after?" Rory demanded. This was ridiculous. Why couldn't _her_ people be on _her_ side?

"You're not supposed to do anything, but if that's how you feel, then yes, you should go and tell him."

Rory bowed her head and thought for a moment. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because, I know that he has problems opening up to people, and that's probably the biggest declaration he's ever made, but I just… What if he leaves me again?"

"I can't tell you for sure that he won't. But maybe you should talk to him. I think that was the problem you guys had towards the end anyway. You kept skirting around the big issue and tried to pretend that everything was ok. But if you want it to work; which I'm pretty sure you both do, then you need to be honest with each other."

"God, you sound just like Joy."

"Well you know, she is pretty smart, of course one would have to forgive her for her feelings towards Tristan, but aside from that, she's got it together. So what do you say, are we going back to the festival? Or are you going to continue to torture the bloke?"

"Tomorrow. I'll talk to him in the morning. I'm exhausted; I don't think I could handle any more emotional melodrama tonight."

"That's fair enough. But would you mind if I went and told him to expect you tomorrow? Or would you prefer me to stay here?"

"I would like my friends to side with me in this – where is Tristan, by the way?"

"I told him to go…"

"Of course you did. Well, I guess you'd better be getting back. Tell Jess whatever you want, I don't care. I'm going to bed to lay awake and think all night long."

"You enjoy that Love, and I'll see you later." Finn gave Rory a hug before walking away from the house. She retreated inside and walked to her bedroom, dropping down on the mattress, fully aware that she wouldn't be sleeping soundly.

* * *

**Review!**


	18. Hash Dealing At The Clarence Hotel

AN: So, as always, thank you for your great reviews guys. They're always very nice to see. And now, this is the last of the chapters I've been stockpiling, so we'll be going back to sporadic updates, but I'll try and be better. No promises though. Enjoy

* * *

When Rory entered the diner the next morning Luke looked up at her worried. He wasn't aware that she had already run into Jess the night before.

"Is he here?" she asked, standing at the counter.

"Go on up," Luke replied, nodding.

"Thanks." With a nervous smile, she ducked behind the curtain and stood at the base of the stairs. Taking a deep breath Rory gripped the banister and began a slow ascent to the apartment.

To Jess.

After her talk with Finn the night before, she'd crashed on her bed for a few minutes, before returning to the kitchen to make an extremely strong pot of coffee. There was a lot to think about, and since she wasn't expecting her mom back for a few hours, she expected that she would have the time she needed to figure out what she had to do.

So she had sat at her desk, making up a pro/con list.

She loved him and he loved her. At least that's what he said. The pro column reflected her reason for standing on the stairs now. She had to tell him.

Forcing herself up to the apartment, she paused for a moment before knocking.

"Yeah?"

"Just do it. Tell him, and you can work everything out from there." She coached herself, reaching for the doorknob.

"Rory? You… you're here." Jess stood on the other side of the door, looking a little afraid.

"I wanted to talk, to you, and I thought that now was as good a time as any."

"Ok. Sure, come in." he stepped aside and Rory walked into the middle of the room. "So..?"

"What you did last night, blind-siding me with that, it really wasn't fair. But if you really meant it-"

"I did. I do."

"Alright, so I… I missed you, a lot. And I love you too." Rory added in a rush.

Jess cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, his face splitting into a big grin.

"Say it again?" he requested, stroking her cheek. Rory laughed.

"I love you,"

"I love you." He told her before kissing her again.

* * *

"Yes!" Em cheered as Lo sat back in her dad's recliner, grinning. "Did you stay happy the whole time, right till now?"

"Not really. With any relationship there are obstacles. Obviously," Jess began. "But we'd both had a serious talking to, courtesy of those crazy uncles of yours, and we were both going in with our eyes open."

"It was better that time, for a while." Rory added.

* * *

For a week or two they were completely blissed out on love. But then things started getting serious.

College applications had just been sent out, and Rory was beginning to freak.

Jess wasn't as calm as he looked either.

He'd been doing ok in school, he was even going to graduate. Keeping up with his work in LA had helped a lot and he was actually going to make it.

But he knew that no matter how hard he worked in the final months he had at Stars Hollow High, he wouldn't be going to any of the schools Rory was applying to.

That was alright though. He'd never expected to get anywhere in life, and so he was already ahead of the game.

Rory sat across from Jess on her couch, telling him all about Harvard and Yale.

"So, you haven't decided on one yet?"

"No. I always believed it would be Harvard, but now I'm just not sure. Yale is a great school and I'd be closer to home if I went there. But Harvard was the dream for so long. What do you think I should do?"

Jess shook his head. "Don't base your future on me. This is your decision to make." Rory opened her mouth, but he held a hand up to stop her. "I'm just saying, this is your thing, if you want to factor me in, that's great. But I just want you to do what's best for you."

"Ok. I guess that makes sense. I don't even need to be thinking about this now. I should just wait until one of them accepts me, if one of them does…"

"They will. Don't worry about that. What's your mom want?"

"Harvard of course; she thinks my choosing Yale would equal me choosing my grandparents over her. Even if I did go to Yale though, that's not the same thing."

"Well, like I said, just do what you want and everyone else will be happy for you, eventually, even if you pick the enemy."

"Do you think we'll be ok if I go away to college?"

"No."

"Oh…"

"First of all, it's not if you go away to college, but when. And the reason I don't think we'll be ok, is because I know. I love you and I never want either of us to go through what we did when I was an idiot."

"Really? You know we're going to make it?" she grinned at him, before leaning in and kissing him. "That's nice to hear. I'm glad there's someone else who believes in us."

* * *

"Once applications had been sent away, the waiting began. I applied to all the expected schools. And Jess was waiting to hear if he would be going to Hartford community. Paris was going insane with all of her class president duties, and her insanity was leaking into my life. There were so many things piled on to me that I needed to deal with. And I didn't even know where I'd end up the next year."

"Did you guys go to prom together?"

"Yeah. Not the Chilton one, but I really wanted to go to one last dance with Lane so we joined her and Dave at the Stars Hollow High prom."

"Oh cool."

"A year before that, it was pretty clear I wouldn't be allowed into any school activities, because I was so far behind. But I got my act together and there was nothing they could do to stop me from going. If I had screwed up and couldn't get the tickets, then… well, I don't know what would have happened. But we actually had a lot of fun."

"You had fun?" Lo asked. She knew her dad, and he wasn't exactly a party guy, prom didn't really sound like the Jess Mariano she'd been hearing about or the guy she knew.

"I can have fun." He defended. "They may not have been my favorite people, but Dave was pretty cool, and Lane's your mom's best friend, so as long as she was enjoying herself I was happy. Even if I did have to wear a tux."

"Oh! Do we have pictures?"

Rory nodded and pulled out an album. This had been kept hidden from the girls most of the time. Not intentionally, but they just hadn't seen the whole thing yet. Flipping past the prom photos with Logan and Finn, and Cotillion with Tristan, they finally got to Stars Hollow High's 2003 senior prom.

"You were so pretty Mommy!" Emma exclaimed, looking at the first picture. Rory stood alone at the base of the stairs in her mother's house.

"Dad! Oh my God, look at you." As the three girls flipped through the album, Jess moved to stand behind the couch and cringe every time he saw a picture of himself. They were a gorgeous couple, but he couldn't stand formal wear.

"Very James Bond." Lo commented, tipping her head back to grin up at him.

"Thank you; that's what I was going for."

"I never said you weren't Bond like." Rory objected.

"Well, you didn't stop your mother from comparing me to Arthur, either."

"I'm sorry, but it was just so easy."

"Whatever. So, next up… Acceptance letters arrived, and as we all know, Paris didn't go to Harvard. She freaked out when she didn't get in. Of course I wasn't there to witness it in person, but I think we have a tape around here somewhere…"

"Don't show them that! She'll hate you forever."

"She already hates me, for no reason, I might add. I mean, I introduced her to salt and pepper dip. She should worship me. So why can't I enjoy her pain a little?"

"What's going on?"

"Aunt Paris had relations with a man and then found out that she hadn't gotten into Harvard. She had a melt down on CNN when we were supposed to be delivering our bicentennial speech." Rory explained, a little more gently than Jess would have.

"Whoa!"

"When I got into Harvard, she got even crazier. Yale and Princeton accepting me didn't help her either. Even though she got into those, as well as Columbia."

"My mother also showed up at this point. She wanted to see me graduate." Jess added.

"And things really got interesting when the rest of the Mariano's showed up as well."

* * *

"I'm just saying, your baby only graduates high school once. I figured if I'm really meant to be working in this hotel then my job will be waiting for me when I get back." Liz Danes explained, sitting at a table with her brother and son.

"Sure, if they know you're coming back." Jess commented.

"They know. Whether they care…"

"Let's move on here, ok? What time is your ceremony?" Luke asked, trying to keep the peace.

"Starts around ten, but I told you-"

"We'll be there, won't we Liz?"

"Of course."

"I'm gonna cut out of there as soon as I can, gotta get to Hartford for Rory's." Jess added.

"Rory, is this the girlfriend you've told me nothing about?"

"Yeah. I guess if you want, you can meet her after. Her mom's throwing a big party at their house."

"Sounds great. Maybe you'll introduce me to some of your friends too."

"I don't have any friends here."

"Excuse me? What the hell am I?" Joy demanded, tapping him on the shoulder, having snuck in while he wasn't paying attention. "Chop liver?"

"You're not here." He told her, pulling her into a hug. "At least you're not supposed to be. What the hell is this?"

"There's a sort of 'Jess Mariano, this is your life' kind of thing going on, I think." She replied.

"Definitely feels that way." Jess commented, looking outside in time to see Jimmy, Sasha and Lily walking towards the diner.

"Hey, hey Jess, how's it going?" he asked, holding the door open for the two females with him.

"Not bad, what's going on here?"

"I figured I've missed enough of your life, thought I should show up for something important. Bad call?"

"Ahh…"

"Jimmy?" Liz stood up, her brother and Joy beside her, all three glaring at him.

"Liz, you're here too. Wow, been a long time."

"Seventeen years."

"Yeah, I um…"

"Hi, Jimmy right? I'm Joy, Jess' best friend. How are you liking Stars Hollow?"

"It's um… pretty much how I remember it." He replied uncertainly. Lily tugged on his jacket and he looked down at her, relieved to have the distraction.

"Hey, how 'bout some introductions?" Sasha asked, looking pointedly at Jess.

"Right, sorry. Mom, Luke, this is Sasha and her daughter Lily. Guys my mom Liz, uncle Luke, and as she likes to tell everyone, this is my best friend, Joy." Everyone began shaking hands and tossing about greetings as Rory came through the door. "Thank God," he muttered, slipping away from the group. "Help, my family is here."

"Really? All of them?" she looked around him to see Joy talking amiably to the small crowd "Wow, they're really here. Is that your mom?"

"That's Liz. And Jimmy decided to bring Sasha and Lily along for an impromptu visit. I don't understand this."

"They want to support you, it's great. Come on." She took his hand and pulled him over to the gathering. "Hey Joy, Luke. Everybody else, how's it going?"

"Rory! Look who showed up for Jess." Joy cried out. The blonde began to introduce everyone to the newcomer.

"It was really great meeting all of you, but I actually have to get going to school." Rory explained a few moments later. "Could I just grab two coffees to go, Luke?"

"Sure."

"What do you need school for? You're as good as outta there. Yale's grabbed you." Joy told her. "You don't need anything from Chilton, hang out with us, catch-up."

"I still need my graduation tickets. And then there's my diploma."

"Won't you get that at the ceremony?"

"No, I get my diploma holder at the ceremony."

"Do you really think they would withhold your diploma?"

"They might."

"Ok, that's it." Jess cut in. "Rory has to go to school, and for that matter, so do I. So we'll see you later Happy."

"Hey Jess?"

"Yeah?" he turned back to the adults who had been talking quietly while he listened to Joy and Rory.

"What do you say about all of us having dinner tonight?" Liz asked.

"Sure, I guess."

"You girls should come too, unless you already have something else on."

"I'm in!" Joy grinned, she loved any chance she got to spend time with her friend, and if that included his family it would be so much more entertaining.

"I have plans actually. I've got dinner with my grandparents."

"I thought that was Friday's." Luke commented handing her the drinks.

"Usually, but since there's so much going on this week, and we're leaving for Europe on Sunday, we moved it forward. You guys have fun though. I should be getting this out to mom."

"I'll come too. I'll see you guys later." Jess added before following Rory to the door.

"So, that's your family?"

"That's them. I still can't believe they're here."

"I think it's really good they all wanted to come for you."

"I guess. So, it's been a couple days since you made the big decision." Jess decided to change the subject, not wanting to talk about himself anymore. "You still going to Yale?"

"Yes, I am. It's got all the classes I want and some really great teachers, and plus, you know, as an added bonus it's really close to here."

"Twenty-two point eight miles," Jess replied, informatively.

"How'd you know that?"

"Do you Yahoo?"

"You looked it up?" she asked surprised. That sounded so cute that he would do that.

"Yeah."

"You looked it up."

"I just hit a couple buttons on the computer." He didn't want her making a big deal about this, it really wasn't.

"You looked it up."

"I was bored. There was nothing on TV and I was fooling around, it was something to do, that's it."

"You looked it up." Lorelai honked the horn waving impatiently at Rory. "Looks like I've gotta go."

"Looks like." With a quick kiss, Rory ran to the car and Jess headed in the direction of his school.

* * *

"You looked it up?" Jess knew it was coming before it began. The mocking.

"Like I said, I was-"

"Marshmallow!" Lo yelled over the top of him, drowning out his words.

"I thought it was nice Daddy." Em told him, patting his knee as she sat in his lap. She hadn't reached the age where the mocking gene kicked in yet.

"Thank you." He hugged her, before Rory demanded food. "We just finished dinner," Jess objected.

"Blame the baby you implanted in me. He wants Oreos."

"Sure, it's the kid's fault, he can't defend himself." Jess stood up to fetch the biscuits.

"And gummy bears!" Rory called out as he left the room.

"Ok, we know about Europe, so next comes Yale right?"

"Well, you know about the sight-seeing and touching the Pope and Grandpa Luke's fake French jam." Em giggled. Lorelai and Luke had a running joke these days; anytime either of them went out of town, they would return home, get a jar of jam from Doose's or Jackson, and make up an elaborate story about its origin. "But I don't think we told you Finn was there, did we?"

"No. What was he doing?"

"Well…"

* * *

Camping out in the Clarence hotel lobby in Ireland, waiting for Bono to show up, became a lot more interesting when one of the girls they'd met in London called another friend, who arrived accompanied by Finn.

"I still don't understand, Love. What do you need Hewson for? You've got me."

Rory and Lorelai shared a look as they heard a very well-known voice, coming towards them. "Finn?" Rory stood up and waited for the newcomers to reach her.

"Rory Gilmore as I live and breathe! Don't tell me you're stalking the poor bloke as well?" he asked, hugging her tightly.

"Ok, I won't tell you. What are you doing here?"

"Apparently, waiting for U2 to appear before I get laid, but this is great. I haven't seen you since graduation. Lorelai! You're looking scrumptious; travel certainly agrees with the Gilmore girls."

"I feel so special," Lorelai grinned. "All these young girls and you just see me. I love you Finn."

"The feeling is absolutely mutual darling." He replied, hugging her. "So tell me, how is the big European adventure progressing?"

"It's great. We're a little behind schedule, I think, but still great." Rory explained as Lorelai looked at her confused.

"Behind schedule? What schedule?"

"Well, I…"

"That would explain the frantic phone call I got the other night." Finn replied, thoughtfully.

"What frantic phone call?" Lorelai demanded. The girl Finn came in with was now sitting with her friends, staring daggers at the other three.

"I think it was a woman's voice. Very husky, muttering something about 'late' and 'missing' and 'how will we survive'?"

"Oh no." Rory muttered, shaking her head.

"What 'oh no'? Who was that? What have you done?"

"I gave Babette an itinerary. She must think we've been kidnapped or something."

"Rory! She's probably called half the European consulates by now. Why would you give her an itinerary?"

"If we were caught smuggling hash over the border and we were thrown in some Turkish prison, wouldn't you want someone to know that we were in Turkey?" Rory asked, Finn frowned, trying to figure out the logic behind her question.

"Where'd we get this hash we were smuggling?" he cracked up when she asked that, anyone else would just say, they would never have anything to do with drug smuggling, but not Lorelai Gilmore.

"You were at a café, you met a guy, he was sweet-talking you, he put the stuff in your purse when you weren't looking."

"At least tell me he was cute."

"He was not bad for a hash dealer."

"Hm. Fine, I'm going to make a very expensive, very long distance phone call. Get me more cheese!"

Rory nodded as her mother walked away, before turning to Finn, "So tell me, why are you here?"

"I just felt like getting a little culture is all. Went to Amsterdam for a few days, got very drunk and spent half an hour hitting on a bike outside a coffee bar at four in the morning, before the owner showed up to collect their property."

"Was she cute?"

"_He_ was quite attractive, but I wasn't really drunk enough."

"You weren't inebriated enough to go home with a guy, but hitting on his bike didn't faze you at all? Geez, Finn, I don't know what we're going to do with you." Rory shook her head and laughed as they sat back and began to update each other on the goings on in their lives. Finn had news on all of their friends while she had anecdotes from their whirlwind tour.

* * *

I couldn't resist Finn and Amsterdam, it was just so much fun. Hope you enjoyed it. Review!


	19. The Lorelai's First Day At Yale

AN: Thanks for the revies, I love them. I know the chapter title isn't very original, but, you know, that's what this chapter is, so, I figured why not just use it? Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing for a little longer.

* * *

"So tell me Rory, how have you been spending your time since you ended things with Logan?" Emily Gilmore enquired halfway through the main course at the first Friday night dinner since Europe. Richard was out of town, he hadn't wanted to go, but it was a very important deal and he promised to catch-up with the girls the next weekend.

"Oh well, you know. I had school, planning our trip, getting ready for Yale and just hanging out with my friends…"

"Have you made any new friends lately? Any boys perhaps?"

"Um, well…"

"Mom, what are you doing?" Lorelai demanded, looking her mother over suspiciously. When Emily Gilmore started in on a line of questioning like this, there was usually a very good reason to keep your guard up.

"Taking an interest in my granddaughter's life, Lorelai. That's all."

"Yeah, ok. So what about you? Make any new friends lately?"

"I don't see why it is such an awful thing for me to ask Rory a simple question. She's leaving for college tomorrow and I haven't seen her in months."

"It's ok," Rory interrupted, hoping to calm the two older generations down. "I actually… Well I haven't made any new male friends, really. Just the ones you already know. But I started seeing someone a while back. I probably should have mentioned it."

"That would have been nice, but what's done is done. So this, 'someone' you're seeing, would he be free for dinner next Friday night?"

"Dinner?" Lorelai repeated at the same time Rory said,

"Next Friday?"

"Yes. Dinner, next week, is that a problem?"

"Well, I…"

"He's probably going to be busy with school stuff mom. You know, starting college, new semester and all."

"No busier than Rory, and she'll be here."

"That's true. I guess I can ask him," Rory replied, uncertainly.

"Wonderful. I look forward to meeting… What is his name?"

"Jess."

"Ah, well you tell Jess I'm very excited to meet him."

"I'll do that." Rory replied quietly. He wouldn't be happy about this, but Emily Gilmore wasn't the kind of woman you said no to.

* * *

Rory's first day as a Yale freshman got off to a bit of a late start. Before and after dinner the night before, Lorelai had been packing things onto Luke's truck, while Rory flew through the house making sure she had everything she needed.

The next morning when Jess arrived to help finish up they were bantering about recording precious moments.

"Okay, I am glad I did not choose to record that particular moment in my daughter's life 'cause that was just ugly." Lorelai commented as he let himself in.

"Oh my God! I'm so glad you're here." Rory exclaimed, grabbing one of the coffee's he carried.

"Good to know I'm still loved."

"We have to go, but Mom thinks she's Annie Leibovitz, and won't let me leave the house till she gets the perfect 'going off to college' shot. Help!"

"I told you-"

"How about you give me the camera?" Jess suggested to Lorelai. "I'll take a picture, if you don't like it you can try again."

"Ok fine, but make sure you can tell what a monumental day this is."

"I'll do my best. Ok, so smile, and do the 'off to college' walk or something." Jess instructed. Rory stood at the door and glared at him.

"You're worse than her! Would you just take the damn picture? I need to go!"

"Ok, ok, hang on." He quickly lined up the shot and took a photo before showing it to Lorelai.

"How did you do that?" she demanded, staring in awe at the view screen of the camera.

"Point and shoot," he replied with a shrug.

"But I've been trying to-"

"You've got your picture, now it's my turn to get something I want. Which is a college education, so come on. Out to the truck, let's go!" Rory instructed. The other two walked out looking a lot like two chastised children. Lorelai walked towards Luke's truck and climbed into the driver's seat and Rory and Jess headed to the Prius her grandparents gave her as a graduation present.

Jess had been at graduation, true to his word. Luke had driven him over after his own ceremony and he'd stood up the back, behind all the seats while the students of Chilton became high school graduates. He'd disappeared inside the school afterward, though. While Rory was with her family, he'd been exploring, checking out the architecture.

"Does your mom know how to drive a stick?" Jess asked as Lorelai stared at the gear shift.

"Uhhh, that's debateable."

"How so?"

"The evidence would point to no, while Mom disputes she can, she lied to Luke. I don't know why she couldn't just shut the door of the Jeep and save the battery."

"Should I offer to help or do you want to continue watching her have a breakdown?"

"Oh, no, wait. She's got it moving, this could be promising." Rory commented as the truck began to back up. They continued to watch as Lorelai moved along the street backwards, occasionally waving her hands maniacally at the stick shift, she was clearly yelling something, but they couldn't hear her through the windows or over the radio. "Oh my God! What is she doing?"

"You head to the diner. We'll see you there." Jess instructed, his face growing determined. Rory could see a plan forming in his mind.

"Will you both be alive?" she asked anxiously.

"I certainly hope so," Jess replied, kissing her, before running down the street and yelling for Lorelai to stop.

* * *

Rory reached the diner first and moved to take a seat at the counter, to wait for her mom and Jess to arrive.

"Hey, Rory. Isn't today Yale?" Luke asked, standing before her with an order pad.

"Um, yeah, I'm going right now." She replied.

"You look so calm. How do you feel?"

"A little nervous, but a last Luke's fix before I go will help."

"Well, today is whatever you want on the house." He told her.

"Wow, I feel important."

"You are important." She could tell he meant that, it sounded so nice. "Where's your mom, and Jess, didn't he go over to your house a little while ago?"

"Um, yeah. He's… helping mom."

"What is she doing?" Luke demanded, looking out the window to see the truck backing towards the diner.

"Well she, uh, backed the truck out of our driveway all fine and everything, but once she hit the road, she couldn't get it out of reverse, so she –"

"Backed it here?"

"Slow but steady." Rory replied as Luke raced out the door.

"There is something seriously wrong with this truck!" Lorelai yelled as Luke came outside and around to the driver's side.

"There is not. Jess, why didn't you stop her from doing this?"

"I tried to tell her, but she's too stubborn. I didn't want her to back over me."

"Get out of my truck, you can't borrow it anymore." Luke decided, reaching through the window to remove the keys.

"But it's already full of our stuff! You can't take it back now."

"You shouldn't have told me you can drive a stick if you couldn't."

"I have a suggestion," Jess began and the two bickering adults turned to him. "You drive the truck with Lorelai so she doesn't have to reverse the whole way to New Haven, and I go with Rory in her car, far ahead of the two of you to avoid watching you kill each other during the trip."

"Why can't you drive the truck and Lorelai goes with Rory?" Luke countered.

"Because Rory and I wanted to go together. We planned it all out, it's not my fault Lorelai's a liar."

"Hey!"

"Here, breakfast is served." Rory announced, coming back outside and handing her mother a bag.

"What's this?" Lorelai asked, peeking inside.

"Since we were short on time, I had Caesar make us something to go. My Yale special." She replied proudly.

"Oh, share, share."

"Sausage wrapped in a pancake tied together with bacon."

"You made that up?" Lorelai asked amazed.

"I don't know how I do it."

"That is disgusting," Jess told her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Excuse me? That's not very nice."

"I'm just saying, I may love you, but you're eating habits are gross."

"We need to get going, so come on. Someone decide how we're supposed to get there." Lorelai demanded.

"You're sure you don't want to drive the truck?" Luke asked Jess desperately.

"I told you, I have my plans."

"Fine. Get in," he told Lorelai. "In the passenger seat!" he instructed as she moved to the driver's side.

"So, do we hang back and watch them from behind, or speed off and try to avoid the blood-bath?" Rory asked as the two adults drove away. Jess just laughed, taking her hand and pulling her towards the Prius. "What?"

"Just… sounds familiar. I say we try to beat them. That's not something that anyone needs to see." He replied as she started up the car.

* * *

Rory and Jess reached Yale first and quickly found a parking spot. Within minutes they were able to locate another one right outside her building and Jess stood guard while Rory went to call her mom and let her know.

"Nice spot Hoodlum," Lorelai commended him as she and Luke climbed out of the truck.

"As the day progresses I'll point out the seven or so fellow Yalies who already hate your daughter, because her obnoxious boyfriend wouldn't give this space up."

"I'd appreciate that." She replied with a grin.

"Ok, so let's get started," Luke suggested. "Where to?"

"I have to get my key first," Rory replied, looking around as a girl approached them.

"Hello. Name?"

"Rory Gilmore."

"Rory Gilmore, Rory Gilmore. . . there you are. Welcome to Yale." She reached out to shake Rory's hand and Lorelai made them hold the pose for a picture. After introducing herself, Tess explained that she would be living in the dorm with Rory in case there was anything she needed and then she noticed the new mattress in the back of the truck. After lying about having made arrangements to remove the old one, Lorelai was warned that Rory was about to get her key, so she got her camera ready again.

"Come on, I'm dying to see your room. Let's go." Lorelai announced, linking her arm through Rory's and pulling her away.

"But Mom, what about-"

"Oh they can see it later, don't worry about them. Ooh, very grand."

"Well I just think, you know, Luke's taking all this time out of his day to come here and-"

As they walked, Lorelai was checking numbers, neither of them were paying attention to the other. "Here it is, just like I pictured it."

"Which one's my room?" Rory asked as they looked around at the three doors.

"R.G. This is it." They walked through the door together "Here it is. Here's where you're going to be thinking all those impressive thoughts. It's just waiting for your decorative stamp. And a little air freshener."

"Wow. This is my dorm. I'm in college. Holy cow, mommy!" Rory looked at her mother, panicked.

"It's ok sweetie. You stay here, take a couple of deep breaths and I'll start helping with the unloading. Enjoy it kid, you earned this." Lorelai added before leaving the room. Rory stood in the middle of her room, looking around.

"So, this is it, huh?" Jess asked, walking in and laying down on Rory's bed watching her look around the room.

"I can't believe this is all mine." She replied after a moment, coming to join him.

"All yours and P.G.'s and J.B.'s and T.S.'s. But I get what you mean."

"Knock, knock." Rory leapt off the bed and ran out to the common room to greet the first visitor to her dorm.

"Finn! Oh my God, what are you doing here? Don't you have your own unpacking to do?"

"Daddy dearest hired some people to take care of that for me and I got bored supervising. Thought I'd come down and see how you were settling in."

"Down as in…?"

"I live upstairs. My roommate looked very shocked to see the movers, guess he's not used to being around money."

"Oh, what's his name?" Rory asked excited. She was looking forward to college and meeting new people was going to be a big part of the great experience.

"Martin something I think. Nice fellow, I suppose, very quiet. But you know what would be really cool though? If Tristan were here."

"I know. But DuGrey men have attended Princeton for generations," Rory recited before Finn joined in. "My grandfather went there, my father, I attended the school and so will you and your children." They dissolved into a fit of giggles as they reached the end of the spiel Tristan had told them he'd been hearing for years and years.

"Ah well, what about you Jess? Any chance you'd like to transfer here and move in with me?"

"Where would we put Martin?" he asked, amused. Finn was definitely a character.

"He can keep his room and you could share my bed."

"I think I'll pass on that for now, but thanks for the offer." He glanced out the window to see Lorelai and Luke squabbling yet again beside the truck. "When will those two finally figure it out?" he muttered.

"Hopefully never." Finn replied and the other two looked at him curiously. "Well, as soon as Lorelai works out that Luke is interested, then my chances will be shot to hell won't they?"

"Finn, you never had a chance." Rory told him gently.

"Never?"

"Not ever."

"Well, that's rather disappointing."

"Good thing you just arrived at a co-ed college, filled with young impressionable girls, hey buddy?" Jess asked, trying to raise his spirits.

"Yes, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks mate."

* * *

The rest of the days unpacking went pretty well, until Lorelai realized how unprepared she had been in providing for her kid. She then begged Luke for the use of his truck for a few more hours so she could shop.

While Rory and Jess were at Yale, sorting out her room, they received a very big surprise, when Tanna the first of Rory's suitemates came in to announce that another one had arrived.

The three of them returned to the common room and the two Stars Hollow residents stood, dumbfounded, as they saw Paris Gellar standing with her life coach, dictating where to put her things.

"I'm going to Yale! Are you surprised?"

"You're going to Yale."

"I was going to call and then I thought, hey, let's wait and just be right in her face."

"I can't even feel my face anymore. My nose. . .it feels like clay."

"Jess! It's so good to see you!" Paris added, moving from Rory to the boy beside her and hugging him also.

"It is? Really?" he hadn't gotten the impression that Paris liked him all that much.

"Isn't this going to be great, Rory?"

"So great…" Rory replied, looking at Jess uncertainly. Living with Paris for a year? This was going to be very interesting.

* * *

"I could not believe we were going to be living together. At this point, we were friendly-ish. But she was still Paris and I was never sure of how to deal with her."

"I was thinking I'd never see your mom again." Jess added. "We were happy and things were good for us, but Paris scared the crap out of me. I figured I'd have to wait until college was over before we'd be alone again.

"She couldn't possibly have been that bad." Lo objected.

"She was worse." The two adults replied.

"But actually, Terrence really helped and she was still seeing Jamie. Together those two really did mellow her after a few months."

"Anyway, that night after everyone had gone home I started freaking out. I was at college. Alone. So I sent two very desperate pages and within an hour I was no longer by myself. My mommy and my boyfriend both came back to support me through my first night."

* * *

After the big party that was dinner, the other girls all returned to their rooms and Jess retired to the couch while Lorelai took the old mattress on the floor beside Rory's bed.

"I have to sleep here, otherwise who knows what that boyfriend of yours will try to get away with?" Lorelai had joked, when Rory offered the new mattress to her mom.

Now as she lay listening to Paris' sleep babbling and her mom's even breathing, Rory began to feel incredibly guilty. It was so childish, needing her people to come back and spend her first night at college sleeping on questionable bedding and uncomfortable furniture.

Quickly and quietly, Rory climbed out of bed and tiptoed out to where Jess lay on the couch.

"Jess? Are you awake?" she asked, just above a whisper.

"Yeah. It's weird, it's hard to sleep without Luke's snoring." He replied, sitting up. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry I made you come back tonight. If it weren't for me you'd be in your own comfortable bed, and you'd be able to sleep."

"Well, my bed really isn't all that comfortable. And I don't mind being here, if it's what you need."

"Thank you."

"Com 'ere." He told her and she moved to lie down in his arms. "That better?"

"Much." They lay in silence for a few moments before Rory remembered her conversation with her grandmother the night before. "Hey, Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"My grandmother wants to meet you." She told him quickly.

"Why?"

"Because she somehow figured out I was dating someone and I told her about you. So now, apparently there has to be a meal."

"When?"

"Next week."

"Do I have to dress up or anything?"

"Just a nice jacket. And maybe a tie if you're feeling really generous."

"The tie would probably win me extra points." Jess mused, stroking her hair thoughtfully.

"Not that you need them. I don't mind if they don't love you. As long as that doesn't make you stop loving me."

"They aren't going to like me, but you've got nothing to worry about."

"Good." They lay in silence for a while longer.

"Ok, do I really have to go to this thing at your grandparent's house?"

"You do not have to go." Rory replied after a slight pause.

"Fine. I'll go." He conceded.

"I love you." She smiled as she kissed him on the cheek and he muttered something under his breath before they settled in to sleep.

* * *

AN: Ok, so I'm clearly addicted to Finn. Expect him to pop up randomly for like ever in everything GG that I write, because I just love him so much. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyes, I'd lve to know what you thinl, so hit the little purple button!


	20. The State Penitentiary?

Lorelai, Rory and Jess stood out the front of the elder Gilmore's home, all a little hesitant to knock.

"We can't stay here all night." Rory announced, looking to either side of her. She was nervous of course, but the faces beside her looked even worse. "She'll come out and check eventually, especially if we don't turn up when she's expecting us."

"But Rory, when we go in there all of our lives are going to change forever. And no offense Jess," Lorelai added, "but I don't think that it'll be for the better."

"None taken,"

"You're being such a drama queen." Rory told her mother before reaching out to knock. Emily answered the door within seconds. "Hi Grandma."

"Rory! Lorelai, I'm glad you could make it. And this must be our guest of honor. Jess, is it?"

"That's me, but I highly doubt there's too much honor in my being here." Jess replied.

"Oh, nonsense. Come in, come in. Can I get anyone drinks?" she asked as they walked through the foyer to the living room. "Richard our guests are here." She announced to her husband who sat on the couch reading the paper.

"Oh, hello." He put down his reading material and stood up to greet the three of them. "Lorelai, Rory, lovely to see you. I don't know this young man though, I'm afraid."

"Grandpa, this is my boyfriend Jess." Rory explained.

"Jess Mariano, sir, nice to meet you." Jess added, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Good shake." Richard commented, before the four of them took their seats and Emily passed Lorelai and Rory their usual beverages.

"Jess, did you want something?"

"No thank you. I'm fine."

As everyone sat, Rory looked to her mother to get the conversation going, and possibly take some of the spotlight off herself and Jess.

"So… Mom, Dad, how are things?"

"Things are good, Lorelai."

"Good, good I'm glad." The older Gilmore's engaged in conversation, while the two younger dinner guests sat quietly. After a few minutes the maid came in to announce that dinner was ready.

"So Jess, any plans to join Rory at Yale in the future?" Richard asked as they all sat down in the dining room.

"Jeez dad, jump right in why don't you?" Lorelai muttered, tossing an apologetic look towards the teens.

"I'm simply asking the boy a question Lorelai."

"It's ok. I… Well, I wasn't really sure about this and I still haven't made any concrete decisions, but I'm thinking of going to the university of Pennsylvania."

"You're going to the state penitentiary? What did you do?" Lorelai grinned at her own joke, but everyone else stayed focused on Jess.

"What? When did you even apply?" Rory asked, amazed. She had told Jess what she was thinking through every process when it came to colleges, but he had kept this completely to himself.

"Same time you were freaking out over your applications. I never really expected to hear back, so I just thought it was better not to mention it. But I got the letter the other day, so if I do go then I'll start in October."

"That's wonderful Jess," Richard told him. "Congratulations."

"Pennsylvania, really?" Emily scoffed. "Well it doesn't matter, Rory will still be attending Yale in Connecticut... Tell me Jess, exactly how far away is Pennsylvania from Connecticut?"

"A little over 313 miles if I take the I-80 West," Jess answered. "So only about five hours and twenty-three minutes by car according to Google Maps."

"You looked it up," Rory said proudly, but was cut off by Emily before she could say anymore.

"Seems far, I doubt you'll be able to see Rory often," Emily said.

"It's not that far, and I'll make the trip anytime Rory wants me to," Jess told her. "The distance won't tear us apart."

"Well as long as you're sure," Emily said and then turned her attention back to the meal in front of her.

"I think its great Jess," Richard praised him. "Tell us more."

"Well I'd be on a scholarship and even then I'll probably be living on Raman noodles till the day I die, but if-"

"What if?" Rory interrupted, taking his hand, the other people in the room seemed to have ceased to exist to Rory for the time being. She had totally forgotten her earlier nerves, Jess and Lorelai were both a lot calmer too. "You are super smart and if a school like Penn is offering you a scholarship then you have to take it. Don't worry about the money, that's what loans are for. This is amazing Jess."

"I'd have to agree with my granddaughter there; a college education is not something to look down your nose at." Richard added. Jess nodded before turning a pleading eye to Lorelai. He wasn't sure why he had chosen that particular moment to share his news, but now he just wanted them all to stop.

Somehow, she understood that.

"So, who wants to hear about my first week as the mother of a Yale student?" she asked, causing everyone to turn to her. She then proceeded to launch into a monologue about her time, home alone.

Jess shot her a grateful smile and she just continued to talk.

"I still can't believe you didn't tell me." Rory turned to Jess as they walked out to the Jeep after dinner.

"Yeah, Jess. What happened to the trust, man? I mean, there are very few ways I can outdo my father, info on my daughter and her boyfriend, who before today, he'd never met, and looking better in chiffon, that's about it. Oh, and my pole-dancing skills are way hotter."

"I'm sure they are." He said before turning to Rory. "I'm sorry I didn't mention it earlier, it's just I didn't really think there would be anything to mention, but then I got the letter and I started thinking, maybe I really could do… something."

"I've been telling you that you could for ages."

"I know that. And I'm finally starting to listen." He replied. They started to drive away and Rory grinned. That dinner may have had some uncomfortable moments, but it could have been a lot worse.

"So, after I told your mom and grandma my news I had to tell Grandpa Luke. He of course insisted that I inform my parents and accept the scholarship. Pretty much everyone was in agreement about that. It was too good of an opportunity for me to waste. So I started looking into cheap accommodation, 'cause I didn't want to be commuting everyday for classes. There were enough things in the world that pissed me off, and I didn't need to add never ending train rides to that, plus living in a dorm wasn't really my idea of a good time. I had enough money to get an extremely cheap hotel room for a few days while I tried to find somewhere more permanent. And then I discovered a share house with two very odd inhabitants.

As he walked along a street, checking the address in the paper he'd bought earlier that morning, Jess glanced up at the houses beside him and located the number he'd been looking for.

After two days of looking at apartments he was no closer to finding anywhere to live and he was starting to think he would have to live on campus with all the perky people who loved everything about college life. All he wanted was to get the knowledge that came from further education and to get out of there. Living amongst all of the cheerleaders and jocks who hadn't yet realized high school was over, was not what he wanted to deal with.

"I'm not being picky," he'd told Rory over the phone the night before. "I just want something good, cheap and close, but it doesn't look like you can have those three things in the same apartment."

"Why not?"

"Well, I can have close and cheap, but that really wasn't good, and I'm pretty sure I saw a couple rats. Good and close are most definitely not cheap. I haven't even found any good and cheap, coz I guess they're all a little far away."

"Well, there is one thing-"

"I can't live in a dorm. I can't even spend a whole day in your dorm."

"That's because Paris is here." Rory replied knowingly. Despite her slight softening, and apparent happiness to see Jess, the two of them really didn't get on well, and it worried Rory at times.

"No, it's more than that. I don't know, I… I'll find something. Tomorrow, I'm just going to drop my standards. As long as I have somewhere to sleep, I can keep looking throughout the year and if I eventually find something better, then I can move. That'll be fine."

"Ok, if you say so. But I still think-"

"Jeez, you must really love your roommates to be trying to push that on me."

"Fine, I'll stop. I'm sorry."

They'd left it there, but now Jess was really thinking she had some kind of mystic power that was keeping him from finding a home so he would be forced to discover what she loved so much about her new living situation.

"Just need a bed…" he muttered as he walked up the front steps to knock. It was a share house, three bedrooms, with one room to let. From the outside it didn't look all that bad, but appearances could be deceiving. He'd learnt that early in life. He'd seen a lot of places in New York that looked nice outside, but once you were in there, they were falling apart, in a complete state of disrepair, and all you would want to do was to get away.

That had also been the case a couple of times in the last two days, but Jess was desperately hoping that wouldn't happen this time.

"Hi, can I help you?" Jess was pulled out of his thoughts as the door was answered. The guy standing in front of him was about the same age and had dreadlocks.

"Uh, yeah. I'm here about the room."

"Really? Cool, come on in. Hey Matt, get your ass out here!" he led Jess inside, through a small hallway to the living room. "I'm Chris by the way." He added.

"Jess," Matt appeared in the doorway and together with Chris he told Jess about the room, the rent, household duties and other things that he would need to know if he were living there. "Could I maybe see the room? Before you have our answering machine message scripted in your mind," he added.

"Right. Sorry, we're kind of new at this. We moved in at the same time and our other housemate just left a couple days ago. You're actually the first person who's been interested." Matt apologized as they returned to the hallway and began walking upstairs to the bedrooms. "This would be your room." He explained, opening a door and switching on the light.

Jess nodded as he walked inside. It wasn't bad. There was a window, to let in some natural light, but also curtains to get rid of it when he wasn't in the mood to deal with the outside world. The bed was bigger than the one he'd been sleeping on the entire time he lived in Stars Hollow, and there was room for a desk too.

"I'll take it." He decided, turning back to see their hopeful faces.

"You will?"

"That's awesome!"

"Well, I have to find a job, because I have one but it's a bit far from here, and when I have class I won't be able to deal with Kirk, but once I have that figured out, then I should be all set."

"Who's Kirk?" Chris asked, confused.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." That answer seemed to be satisfactory for the time being and they returned to the living room to discuss their new arrangement in more detail.

"I was wondering when Chris and Matt would appear." Lo commented.

"Have I never told you that story before?" Jess asked. He was sure he would have mentioned that earlier.

"No, just like you forgot to tell us years ago how you and mommy met." Em replied before her sister added,

"Actually, come to think of it, I don't think you ever explained how you met Joy either." It was apparently 'gang up on dad' day in the Mariano household.

"Oh look out Jess, I think that may just be a best friend code violation." Rory warned with a grin.

"What about you, huh? Do they know when Lane-"

"Of course they know when Lane and I met." Rory replied, looking to both the girls.

"Kindergarten, Chico and The Man, crayons, psycho bad seed serial killer, lifelong friendship!" the two girls recited in unison the way their grandmother had described the two girls at Lane's wedding, Rory continued to grin and Jess groaned.

"Hang on a second." Em interrupted. "Didn't…um Logan go to Yale as well?"

"Yeah, I'd actually forgotten about that until we ran into each other by a coffee cart one afternoon." Rory replied. She wasn't sure the girls would remember that, but she'd been planning on mentioning how they had tried to be friends anyway.

Jess moved the things he had with him into the house later that day, after he'd been out scouting the job situation. Slightly defeated, he returned to Stars Hollow to pack up the rest of his things and regroup.

In less than a week everything was packed and ready to go. Joy wanted to see where he would be living and going to school, so she offered up her services for moving day. Luke also managed to rope Lorelai in, she later mentioned she'd been feeling guilty about the truck and thought that would be a good way to make up for it.

Rory and Finn were too busy getting the hang of their new schedule's, so they were yet to see the place, but Joy took pictures, which she hand delivered to Rory at Yale, wanting to check out her other friend's new digs and finally meet the infamous Paris Gellar.

With less than a month before classes, Jess got right back into the job search once everyone was gone. It wasn't exactly his idea of a career making move, but there was a café not far from the house hiring and since he had the experience, he figured it was good enough for the time being.

Rory was settling in at Yale quite well, she'd found the best places to get all her favorite foods (thanks to her mom) and good coffee (although there was still nothing that topped Luke's.)

As she was juggling her books and purse and the precious beverage she'd just bought, she turned and almost spilled the drink on the man standing directly behind her. Her first thought was to hold fast to the cup before any of her beloved nectar could be lost, while the person she had bumped caught her falling books.

"I'm so, so sorry!" she gushed, making sure the lid was secure and nothing had been spilt on him.

"That's ok, I- Rory?"

She looked up at the familiar voice and smiled. "Logan? Oh my God, you go to Yale. Wow, how did I forget that?"

"I don't know. What are you doing here? Visiting Finn?"

"No, I go here too."

"Really? What happened to Harvard?"

"Uh, well Harvard turned into Yale, it's a long story."

"I've got time," he replied. "You got a class?"

"No, actually I'm free for the rest of the afternoon. I was heading to the library, but that can wait." Logan's drink which he had ordered just after Rory was handed to him.

"Did you wanna..?"

"Sure." They each held their drinks, Logan still carrying Rory's books, and moved to a nearby bench to catch up.

"We caught up on things and I told him all about Europe. But the one thing I didn't mention was your dad."

"Why?"

"Well, I just figured that we had this chance to try and be friends again and I didn't want to screw it up in the first five minutes by telling him, 'Remember that guy I kissed when we were dating? Well. We're still together and we're in love.' It seemed pointless. If we really could make a friendship work then I would tell him, but if we couldn't it wouldn't be because I had a boyfriend. I decided I wouldn't say anything unless he asked me outright. It was a good theory anyway."

Rory was starting to think that she should have been honest from the get-go, things with Logan were going well, but there was a part of her that didn't want him to know about Jess. The relationship was still fragile and she didn't want to ruin it again.

She didn't have to lift a finger though; the whole thing blew up in her face one afternoon when they were meeting up for lunch.

Finn was late as usual, so the two of them had already found a table and ordered.

"Classic Finn," Logan muttered. "He decides what time we're supposed to meet and then doesn't bother to show up. I don't know why we still listen to him."

"It's the accent." Rory replied. "We just can't resist."

"Ahh."

"Since he's taking his sweet time, I'm going to excuse myself and go to the ladies room. If Finn gets here before I'm back, be sure and hit him over the head for me will you?"

"Will do," Logan replied with a nod as Rory stood up and walked away. Logan hadn't been left alone long before Rory's cell phone began to ring. Most likely thinking it would be Finn calling to give some elaborate excuse for his lateness; Logan quickly located the source of the ringing and answered it. "Hello?"

"Uhh, I think I've got the wrong number," Jess replied, uncertainly. Unless he was really distracted, he could usually dial Rory's number in his sleep, but the person on the other end of the phone definitely wasn't Rory.

"Depends on who you're looking for,"

"Rory Gilmore." Jess responded. The only guys who ever answered Rory's phone were Finn and Tristan, but he knew their voices as well, and he was currently racking his brain to try and figure out who this was.

"This is her phone, she's just in the bathroom; can I tell her who called?"

"Who is this?"

"Logan Huntzberger, I'm a friend of Rory's. Who's this?"

"Just tell her Jess called." He answered before hanging up. What the hell was Logan doing answering Rory's phone? How were they even in the same place right now? And why hadn't she told him?

When Rory returned to the table, Logan was still alone, but just as she sat down, Finn appeared. "Sorry I'm late mates. I had a prior engagement," he explained with a twinkle in his eye. "Tell me, what's been happening?"

"Rory just got a phone call." Logan replied, turning cold eyes onto the girl beside him.

"Oh really? How interesting, who was it? The Queen, Mick Jagger? If it was Heidi Klum and you didn't get her number for me, I'm afraid I'll have to kill you."

"Jess." Finn didn't seem to find that information too alarming, and just turned his attention to perusing the menu. But Rory bit her lip and silently looked at Logan. She could tell he was mad, and she would probably have some explaining to do the next time she spoke to Jess as well. "Is that the same guy that I'm thinking of? The guy you dumped me for?"

"To be fair you-"

"To be fair? What the hell are you talking about? Fair, would have been you letting me know that he was still around the first day we got coffee, instead of stringing me along all this time."

"Stringing you along?" Rory questioned confused.

"Yes, Rory, we dated once before, do you remember that?" He questioned her.

"I remember, but what has th-" Rory began but was cut off by Logan.

"So what am I supposed to assume when I see you at Yale, alone, and you want to talk to me," Logan explained. "Over these past few weeks we've became close friends, and you never mentioned a boyfriend."

"So you assumed that I was only talking to you because I wanted to go out with you again?" Rory questioned him, trying to see if she was hearing this right. "Logan, I had no idea if this friendship between us was going to work. So I didn't think it was worth telling you about Jess until I was sure that the two of you would actually have to be in the same space."

"Well you don't need to worry about that. The two of us won't be around each other, and neither will you and I for that matter. I'll see you later Finn," Logan stood and walked away just a waiter arrived with their food. Rory wasn't hungry anymore and Finn was too stunned to think about food.

"What just happened here?" he asked.

"I screwed up." Rory replied, moving some fries around on her plate. "I should have told him, but I didn't think…"

"At least tell me Jess knew that you'd been spending time with Logan?" Finn enquired gently.

"Strike two." Rory answered quietly. "I'm such an idiot."

"Rory what were you thinking?"

"That it wasn't that big of a deal. I mean, does everyone in my life have to know about everyone else?"

"Not everyone. But when you start hanging out with your ex, you should at least give him the head's up that the guy who broke you up in the first place is still on the scene. And your boyfriend probably should be given the same courtesy in case he calls and gets the wrong person. Geez, this is a mess."

"Jess didn't break us up. I didn't know what I wanted and I ruined things. But that was so long ago. I really didn't think it would matter to either of them that much."

"So why didn't you just tell them both from the start?"

"I don't know." Rory was staring at her phone; she needed to make sure things with Jess were ok. If she couldn't salvage what she had with Logan, that would be ok, just as long as she didn't lose Jess because she had been so dumb.

"Go on, call him. I'll see if I can catch up with Logan and try to talk him around."

"Thank you." Rory began to pull out some money to pay for the untouched meals.

"Nah uh, my treat." Finn stopped her, "besides, if I'd gotten here on time, none of this would have happened, so I figure I owe you. I'll talk to you later." He told her, placing money under the salt shaker and hugging her. They split up and Rory hurriedly dialed the last number in her call history.

She had to fix this right now, she needed to talk to Jess and make everything better.

"So that was basically it; everyone important in our lives-"

"Hang on," Lo interrupted her mother. "Dad was angry about that Logan thing. How did you fix it?"

"Well, I called him and explained the reasons I've already told you. When I was done he said it was fine, he understood and we should just forget it. But I could tell everything wasn't ok. This was on a Friday so I had to come home for dinner and I stayed with mom for the night. I didn't have any weekend classes so I made a few calls to change my plans before driving down to Philly. I knew exactly where to go, because in addition to taking interior and exterior shots of the house, Joy had also photographed the street and signs on the highway. Together with my GPS, she made the trip a whole lot easier."

Rather than go to Joy to fix this problem with Jess like she usually would, Rory decided she had to do it herself. She was in college, she was an adult, she had made this mess and Joy couldn't possibly be expected to always make everything better.

Walking up the front steps of Jess' new home Rory knocked. She wasn't sure how well received she would be but this relationship meant too much to her, she refused to accept that everything was 'fine.'

"Are you sure you're at the right address?" asked the boy who answered the door. "Because I don't want to send you away, but the guys that live here couldn't possibly get a girl that looks like you. Unless you're an idiot."

"You must be Chris. Is Jess home?" Rory asked as Chris stared at her and her voice registered, they'd spoken on the phone briefly a few times.

"Rory! Yes, of course. I'm sorry, I'm an idiot. I could show you a doctor's certificate if you'd like."

"That's ok, I just need…"

"Up the stairs; second door on the right." Rory thanked him before following his directions.

"Yeah?" Rory let herself into Jess' room after knocking and he looked up, surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"

"You're mad at me, and Logan is too. But I don't care about him, he's not important to me like you are. You said we're fine but I know that isn't true. So I had to come and fix this, because Jess, I love you and I really don't want to lose you over something that meant nothing."

"If it didn't mean anything, then why did you keep it from me?"

"I have no idea. I know it was stupid and I should have been honest with you from the very beginning. I mean all we did was get coffee and talk a couple of times, but I just… I guess I knew you wouldn't be happy about it so I decided not to mention it until I knew that he would be in my life, you know?"

"Is he gone now?"

Rory nodded. "I'm pretty sure he'll never want to speak to me again. But that doesn't really matter to me, because I don't need him. I just need-"

"Ok, it's ok." Jess interrupted, standing up to pull her into his arms. "It's ok," he repeated and Rory could tell that it was this time.

"I'm sorry." She added for good measure.

"I know. I probably shouldn't have gone off the way I did, I just… if it hadn't been for him then we probably wouldn't have lost as much time as we did. I just thought with him back in your life-"

"There is no way. Trust me on that. Logan's not going to come between us, and neither will anyone else. I love you."

"I love you," he replied before kissing her. "You wanna see the liberty bell?" he asked after a few minutes.

"Yes. Let's go!" Rory answered excitedly. She took his hand and dragged him to the door. Jess had just enough time to grab a jacket, before he was pulled outside and then down the stairs.


	21. Dance, Dance

Thank you for your reviews, I own nothing., Enjoy.

* * *

"Hey, do you guys wanna watch a movie?" Lo asked, digging through their massive collection. Once upon a time the DVD's had fit into a small cabinet, but that was years ago. The range had grown considerably since Rory and Jess first melded their selections.

"Are you bored with us already?" Jess asked, pushing out his bottom lip in an attempt at the Gilmore pout. He'd gotten pretty good at it over the years, but he still wasn't as good as Rory.

"No, I just thought you'd like a break. You've been talking about yourselves for weeks."

"Oh no, we like it that way."

"Of course you do. Well, I was gonna suggest a little Kate Hudson, maybe some Billy Crudup."

"No!" Rory groaned, and Jess grinned at his little girl. Over the years he had found many a movie to annoy Rory with, but nothing worked quite as well as the original; Almost Famous. "Anything else, please."

"I can't help it mom, I'm addicted."

"You really are my daughter." Jess remarked proudly.

"Was there ever any doubt?"

"Well, when you were about two, you were way too much like Finn."

"You didn't know him when he was two," Rory objected.

"He's always been two. The man is incapable of growing up."

"Ok, this is making me a little uncomfortable, but I assure you both, you are definitely father and daughter."

"That's very nice to know. So I'm sorry, where did we land? Movie or memory?"

"Wait for me! I'm coming, I'm coming." Emma cried out as she skidded into the room, having just finished speaking with her grandparents. "Ok, I'm here, did I miss anything?"

"Nope, we were just trying to decide between watching a movie or continuing the story." Rory explained. "They want to watch Almost Famous."

"Story! Story, definitely not that movie." Em replied emphatically. She was one hundred per cent on her mother's side when it came to that.

Jess shared a look with his first born and they each gave a short nod. "Fine, we'll watch it tomorrow."

"Sounds good to us. So we'd met just about all the important people in our lives and we were back on track. Now as you know, Taylor hosted a twenty-four hour dance marathon every year. One day we'll take you, but for now you'll have to make do with the stories." Rory explained.

* * *

On the first semester break from college, Jess and Rory both returned to Stars Hollow. Lorelai wanted to compete in the twenty-four hour dance marathon and beat Kirk, defeating him and taking the big shiny trophy from him for the first time in six years.

When her partner dropped out at the last minute, she begged Rory to dance with her. Rory reluctantly agreed, even though she had planned to sit and watch with Jess, showing him all the things that happened each year without fail.

But because of Stanley Appleman, she found herself standing out the front of Stars Hollow High before the sun had even come up.

"How ya doing there, champ?" Lorelai asked, nudging Rory as they came close to the registration line.

"Early." Rory slurred, tiredly. "No sun."

"Well, he's not up yet. Come on, I see Luke inside, let's get some coffee into you." Rory perked up slightly at the mention of caffeine and they moved inside towards the proprietor of the diner. "Two humongous coffees please." Lorelai requested, patting Rory's head as she nodded off on her shoulder.

"It isn't ready yet."

"What?"

"Mommy!" Rory moaned.

"You're scaring my kid Luke. How is the coffee not ready? It's six in the morning. Nothing says coffee like six in the morning."

Luke looked around quickly before producing a thermos from beneath the table. "You did not get this from me." He warned.

"Ah, yes! I knew you wouldn't hold out on us. Here honey, drink up." Lorelai selflessly offered the first drink to her daughter and the girl's eyes opened wide within seconds.

"Mmm Strong. Bless you."

* * *

Four hours in, Rory was starting to get the hang of things. Her feet hurt just the tiniest bit, but that was ok, the coffee Luke had given her was working wonders so she didn't really care about the slight pain.

By eleven, Jess had arrived to sit and mock his friends, who, like Rory and Lorelai had been dancing for hours. Joy and Tristan were doing well, and in the back of her mind Rory thought that they had a really good chance of getting to the finish line.

Rory was torn from her thoughts as Taylor's air-horn sounded and Lorelai groaned.

"Oh my God."

"What, what is that?"

"The run-around."

"The run-around?" Rory repeated, looking around the room; everyone was moving to one particular spot to line up. "That does not sound good."

"I'm sorry, baby. I'm so, so sorry." Taylor gave instruction on how the run-around worked and then everybody began to move as quickly as they could. As they ran, Jackson and Sookie appeared and Jackson and Lorelai engaged in an argument about whether or not she had any real say in his and Sookie's childbearing arrangements. The whole thing ended with him storming off the floor and then the run-around was over, and just about everyone dropped to the floor.

Slowly climbing to their feet, Rory and Lorelai were joined by Jess, Tristan and Joy within moments.

"Isn't this just the most fun you've ever had?" Joy asked; a huge grin in her face.

"You're evil. I don't like perky people today." Rory grumbled as the teens moved towards Miss Patty's for food and Lorelai went off to find Sookie and Jackson.

"You're not enjoying this? I think it's so great."

"What drugs did you take this morning, Happy? This is torture. I don't know how any of you are still standing." Jess commented, supporting Rory as they reached the Kim's eggless egg salad sandwich table.

"Coffee." The three of them replied.

"Although, I think Joy here has a little red bull and no-doze mixed in there somewhere as well." Tristan added.

"You said you weren't going to tell them."

"What can I say, I fold easily under pressure."

"What pressure? Nobody was pressuring you."

"Hey guys, how are you feeling?" Lane asked, handing over sandwiches. The three dancers mumbled various replies about being tired while Jess remained silent and just took the food offered to him. "Well you're doing great. Rory I really think this is the year."

"I hope so, coz if mom ever tries to make me do this again, I may just have to kill her. Or myself, I haven't decided yet."

"Here's hoping that doesn't happen." Joy replied.

Everyone ate quickly before preparing themselves for the next few hours of dancing and then they were back in the gym, starting again.

* * *

Hour sixteen, Tristan attempted some sort of flip and hurt his back. He wasn't used to lifting girls over his shoulder and wasn't quite in the right position when he attempted the move, so he and Joy had to sit out from there.

Jess headed outside to get some air while Rory was busy dancing with her mom. They were getting close, four hours to go. He had nodded off a few times, and wasn't really in the mood to read anymore, so he just decided to go out for a breather and then return to watch her triumphant last few hours.

As he returned inside, his eyes adjusting to the change in lighting, Jess tilted his head to the side as he caught sight of two people he knew, up in the bleachers. He'd known they were there, but he wasn't aware they were going to be doing what he could clearly see them doing now.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, coming over to stand in front of Happy and Tristan. He had met this boy attached to his best friend before, but since the two of them had started dating, he hadn't once seen them together. Until today, or yesterday... he wasn't sure what day it was anymore, this thing had been going on for way too long.

"Oh Jessie, if you don't know that, I feel very sorry for you right now." Happy replied; a very big grin in place as she rubbed at a smudge of lipstick on Tristan's face.

"Not you. You," he indicated Tristan and gave him a particularly menacing glare. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Hey man, you're dating Rory, so this really isn't-"

"I know that. What I want to know is why you think it's appropriate to have your hands all over my best friend?"

"Coz she's hot? And she likes me? I dunno. Why do you always have your hands on my best friend?" Tristan countered.

"Lane is Rory's best friend." Jess replied.

"I'm not disputing that. I said she was my best friend, not that I was hers. Ok, well maybe not best, best friend, but she is one of my best friends. You didn't answer my question."

"I'm still waiting for an answer to mine." Jess responded.

Throughout this entire exchange, Joy continuously looked from one boy to the other, but at this point she'd had enough. "Ok! That's it. Jess, I love you for trying to protect me, but I'm a big girl, I can look after myself. And I don't need you intimidating every guy that looks at me. And Tristan, a word to the wise; next time this guy starts to grill you, ditch the evasive manoeuvres and just give him the info he wants. He will beat you at the interrogation and can make you sing like a canary in no time. Now, I'm going to go get another one of Mrs. Kim's delightful sandwiches. When I get back, I expect someone to dance with me." She walked away, leaving the two boys to watch each other warily.

* * *

Rory was barely conscious, and she still had half an hour of stupid dancing to get through. "Mom…"

"Yeah?" Lorelai mumbled; she was almost as tired, but somehow was still able to hold up her daughter.

"I kind of hate you right now,"

"Oh, that's sweet, honey. Thanks."

"I just thought you deserved to- Ow!"Rory dropped to the ground, one hand against her ankle as she held onto her mom's hand with the other. "Ouch, ouch!"

"Rory? Honey, what happened?" Lorelai asked anxiously, still moving her feet.

"My ankle, I think… I don't know. It hurts mommy."

"Yellow card!" Lorelai called out, waving the paper as Jess and Tristan both swooped in to help Rory up. "Oh, this totally sucks. I can't believe how close we came."

"I'm so sorry mom."

"No, sweetie, it's ok."

"Hey, can you guys look after Rory for me, for a sec?" Jess asked Tristan and Happy, shifting her to lean on them. "I'll be right back. Lorelai, keep on dancing." He instructed, taking strides towards the door. "Luke!" he called out, rushing through the unlocked front door of the diner. "Luke, come on, I know you're here."

"What's going on?" Luke demanded, coming out of the kitchen.

"We need your help. Rory hurt her ankle, and Lorelai's struggling to stay standing. Someone needs to help her finish the competition, and I need ice." Jess rushed to explain. Luke stood frozen for a moment, before he returned to the kitchen.

"Come on, let's go." He said to Jess, moving to the door, holding a chunk of ice wrapped in a dish towel. "Hey, Rory, how're you doing?" he asked, kneeling down in front of her, holding the ice against her swelling ankle.

"Oh, well you know, just hanging out here at the bleachers." She replied, watching her mother attempt to keep herself motivated. She had tears in her eyes, being so sleep deprived, and having just let her mom down at such a crucial moment, combined with the pain in her leg, it was all making her a little emotional. Kirk and his partner were circling Lorelai and she was drooping. "She's not going to make it. She's too tired to stay up on her own; I have to get back in there."

"I'm sorry Rory, but you're not going to be dancing on this ankle for a while." Luke told her as her friends looked on sadly. They all knew how much the competition meant to Lorelai, and by extension, Rory. Luke looked over his shoulder to see Lorelai turning in slow circles. "Don't worry. She's going to win this." He replied, easing her foot up onto the step she sat on, before moving onto the dance floor.

They all sat and watched as he pulled Lorelai towards him, and slowly moved holding her against his chest. She was too tired and there was no way he was going to pull out any fancy moves; as long as they kept moving for the next eighteen minutes, then Lorelai would have achieved her dream of defeating Kirk.

Rory reached over and grabbed Tristan's arm, to check his watch, before she turned to look up at the clock on the wall. "She's going to make it. They're actually going to win!" she whispered. Jess squeezed her hand and Joy got up to find the first aid attendant to check on Rory's injury.

There was less than ten minutes to go when Kirk went rigid and fell to the ground, pulling his partner down with him. Four sets of eyes were glued to the dance floor at that moment and as soon as he hit the floor they all cried out, causing Patty to jolt awake.

"Oh, oh, oh. Taylor, wake up! It's over. Taylor, blow the horn."

But Taylor was dreaming of his childhood fantasy of becoming a magician, ". . .a quarter right out of your ear." He muttered, as he slept on some chairs.

"Taylor, the horn. Oh, for Pete's sake." She rushed over, grabbed the horn out of his limp hands and blew it, waking all of the people dozing around the gymnasium. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! The dance marathon winner this year is Lorelai Gilmore!" Patty announced. Rory, Jess and their friends all started cheering.

"I won?" Lorelai asked, dazed.

"You won." Luke told her

"Play the song Patty!" Lorelai instructed, taking Luke's hand and pulling him along for a victory lap around the room. As _'Eye of the Tiger'_ played, Lorelai cried out; "I win, I win! I win, I win, I win, I win!"

With the boys helping Rory, and Joy supporting Lorelai everyone returned to the crap shack while Luke headed back to continue opening up the diner.

"Can you get mom up to her bed? I really think she needs to just sleep now, she had a really big day."

"I did it Rory. I won." Lorelai muttered as she was led up the stairs.

"I know, you did it mom; you beat Kirk!" Lorelai laughed as she moved down the hallway, and everyone else just sat on the couch, laughing as well. By the time Tristan returned to the living room, Rory was asleep.

"Anyone up for a movie?" he asked, sitting beside Joy on the couch.

She shook her head, and pushed his shoulder, as if moulding a pillow. "Time to sleep." The boys both nodded and settled back to do just that.

* * *

"That's when I knew they were meant for one another." Rory finished. "Watching Luke dive in and help the both of us, I could just see it. He was always going to be there. It took a while longer for them to realize it though."

"Was this around the time Nana Liz got married?" Em asked.

"Yes actually. That was about two months later, and everyone knows how that turned out."

"I still can't believe Sniffy was dead," Lo shook her head.

"Oh my God, he was a dog. And it was years ago. Get over it." Jess told her. Every now and then Lorelai would start in about the back of the menu at Sniffy's Tavern. It drove him crazy, which was her main reason for doing it.

"So everyone was happy then?" Emma asked. She'd been waiting very patiently for a time when all the people she loved were happy. At one point or another, everyone had been upset over something but this sounded promising.

"Yes, everyone was happy. And they stayed that way for quite a while." Rory answered, smiling at her daughter. All Emma wanted was a happy ending, despite her dislike for princess stories, the fairytale ending was something she was clearly hoping for. "Being apart like that was hard for us, but not as hard as California. Since we'd already been through that hell once before, we knew what we needed to do in order to stop it from reoccurring. But we also needed to really focus on school at the same time, so that made it a little more difficult."

"But like I had said to Emily, I wasn't going to let anything tear us apart that time." The girls both looked to their mother for confirmation.

"He kept his word, and so did I. We both worked really hard to keep our relationship alive, be honest, and also live our lives as normally as we could. By the time we graduated, we'd gotten so good at being apart that I'm not sure either one of us knew what to do once we were back together. But we got through it, as you can see." Rory concluded, before finally succumbing to the yawn she'd been trying to fight off. She'd been doing pretty well lately, but from her two previous pregnancies, Rory knew that she would be really tired a lot of the time from now on.

Jess suggested they call it a night and all four of them stood to retire to their beds.

* * *

So, I had to do that. I just could not stop myself from including the dance marathon. I think it was because of The Ripple Effect, I loved the original dance marathon, but I wanted a happier one. And having Lorelai win, and kick Kirk's ass, well, that's always a plus. I hope this was as fun to read as it was to write, let me know.


	22. Crackerjack!

AN: Thanks for your reviews guys, I love hearing what you think, so keep them coming! You should probably know (if you haven't aready guessed) that I'm planning to end this soon. I don't know exactly how many more chapters there are going to be, just a head's up.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

* * *

"So, as you already know, we were together all through college, and grandma and grandpa were together most of that time too. They broke up that one time after Great Grandma Emily and Grant Grandpa Richard's vow renewal, but were able to fix things. Thank God."

"While they had been apart, I wasn't speaking to most of my family," Rory added. "I was mad at my dad and my grandmother because they had ruined things for mom and Luke. But after everything was back to normal, we started mending our relationships."

"And then came the day that they announced their engagement."

* * *

"Rory! Rory wake up!" Lorelai yelled as she raced through the house, narrowly missing the walls, while she knocked things over. She clearly didn't care, because she didn't slow down in the slightest. "Rory, I swear to God, if you don't wake up right now, I'm gonna explode, 'cause I have to tell you this and I have to tell you now!" She burst through Rory's door and stopped dead.

Rory sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly as Jess rolled over and shielded his face with his arm, trying to remain asleep. "Mom? What's wrong?"

"There's a boy in your bed." Lorelai replied, watching him warily. The two were fully clothed, but still, a boy in her daughter's bed… not good.

"I… yeah, can we discuss that later? Why were you screaming the house down just now?"

Recovering slightly from her shock, Lorelai waved her hand in front of her daughter, displaying the ring she had just received. "Look!"

"Oh my God! Luke proposed?"

"No, I just got really lucky when I opened up a Cracker Jack box."

"He proposed!" Rory jumped off her bed and pulled her mother into a tight hug. "I can't believe it. Jess, wake up!" she turned and started poking her boyfriend, who was still trying to stay in the land of nod. But her incessant poking soon got the better of him and he opened his eyes.

"S'going on?" he slurred.

"Luke proposed!" The two Gilmore's yelled together, bouncing in their excitement, and he tried to sit up, blinking rapidly.

"Luke proposed?" he repeated and the two of them nodded insistently before dissolving into giggles. "Wow. Congratulations."

"Thanks Jess." Lorelai beamed at him, before hooking her arm through Rory's. "Oh my God! There is so much we have to do; dresses, cake, flowers, a venue. We need to pick a date, come up with a guest list, and register for gifts. Ohh! I get presents!"

"Mom, slow down, hang on a second. He just asked you this morning, right?"

"Yeah, so? This is my wedding; it's never too early to start planning."

"No, I get that, but he just asked you to marry him and your first thought was to run over here and tell me? Shouldn't you have maybe stayed with Luke for a little bit, enjoy the moment? Not that I'm not happy to see you, and hear this, but…"

"Oh, we enjoyed the moment. Several times."

"Ok, that right there is way too much information. I may be your best friend, but I'm also your daughter, remember?"

"Oh honey relax, it's not like I told you we-"

"Alright, that's all I need to hear to know I'm in a nightmare." Jess announced, coming out of Rory's room and wrapping an arm around his girlfriend. "I think what she meant to ask was, shouldn't you still be with Luke now? Pretending the rest of the world doesn't exist?"

"Why, Jess, I had no idea you were such a romantic." Lorelai teased him. "I don't want the world not to exist. I wanted to tell my kid. Besides, Luke's cooking us breakfast. He said he'd let Caesar open up today, and he'd bring over enough for all of us. So let's go wait for him while I tell you all about how it happened." Lorelai suggested, taking Rory's hand. While she had been talking, Lorelai was also busy making a pot of coffee, now she carried a mug of coffee while Rory carried another and Jess was left behind to get his own.

* * *

"It still amazes me that Luke Danes, the original grumpy man, went to all the trouble of making heart shaped pancakes and pieces of bacon spelling out 'will you marry me'. I mean, Luke!" Rory gushed as she and Jess walked into Weston's bakery.

They were picking up a cake for the celebratory dinner that night. Sookie was making a ton of food, including desert, but Rory wanted to contribute something, so she had ordered a four foot chocolate cake with individual vanilla cupcakes on top spelling out 'Happy Engagement Day Lorelai And Luke' with two kinds of frosting, because the frosting was her mom's favourite part.

"I know, it does sound very... un-Luke like." Jess replied.

"It's so romantic though. I always knew that they- Oh no!"

"What's wrong?"

"Finn!" Rory replied, anxiously.

"Finn? What about him?"

"He's going to be crushed." Even though he'd accepted that Lorelai was dating Luke, the news of their engagement would probably break his heart.

"Rory, Finn's going to be fine. As long as there's a hot, single girl to distract him when he finds out, he'll be over it in seconds. It's only a crush, and we all knew there would come a day when he would be forced to finally get over your mom."

"Are you sure?"

"Let me ask you, how many times in the last two years has Finn professed his love for Lorelai?"

"Umm, four, I think."

"And the year before that, it was twelve, and before that, he did it almost weekly." Jess replied, remembering the many times he would answer the phone at the Gilmore house – because he was closer, and they just didn't want to move – only to hear Finn's latest declaration of worship. "He's going to be fine."

"I really hope that you're right."

They were months away from graduating, and Paris was busy scheduling all sorts of crazy extracurricular activities for herself and Rory in an effort to bulk up their transcripts for grad school. Rory had been taking a much needed break from her disturbed roommate when this whole wedding thing had suddenly been announced.

"Hi, we're here to pick up a cake for Gilmore," Rory told the woman at the counter. After Fran had died, a new family took over the bakery, but they had only stuck around for about a year, now there was another new couple, just getting started.

"Sure, just one sec." She retreated to the back room, leaving Jess and Rory alone.

"I thought she was going to kill me this morning," Jess confessed once it was just them again.

"Mom? Well, yeah, she might have if she hadn't been so distracted with her happy news. Not that there was any real reason for bloodshed." Rory replied.

"I have been the perfect gentleman lately, haven't I?" Jess asked, wrapping his arms around Rory and kissing her.

"Well, perfect gentleman is probably a bit of a stretch, but yes, you've been very well behaved."

"Here you go." The girl reappeared with the cake and Rory moved to hand over some money, while Jess carried the box.

"Be careful with that," Rory warned as they exited out into the sunshine, headed for Lane's. Sookie's house was so crazy with cooking and the occasional batch of happy tears, and Rory wanted to keep the cake a surprise from her mom until the party, so Lane's was the best place to store it for the time being.

"I'm being careful. I already escaped death at the hands of one Gilmore today; I'm not going to be stupid enough to subject myself to your wrath should I destroy your precious cake."

"I'm glad to see you're learning," Rory replied, opening the gate to walk up to the porch of the Kim house.

"Well, if I hadn't learned anything by now, I'd have to be pretty dumb."

"Which we all know you are," Lane quipped, opening the front door. "Everyone knows you're just a pretty face Jess, so give it up already."

"Rory, how much do you really like this person?" Jess glowered at the Korean as she smiled sweetly at him.

"Uh, I'd say pretty much a whole lot, so how about we try to avoid death at everyone's hands and just enjoy this amazing day. Because my mom is getting married!"

"Fine. But you watch your back Kim, when we aren't all being forced to participate in a happy day; I'll be right behind you." Jess warned, and Lane just laughed.

"Ok, sure. Thanks for the warning Jess." Lane then turned to her best friend. "So tell me, how did it happen? Did she give you all the details?"

"It was so romantic, come on, I'll tell you everything." The two girls raced off up the stairs and Jess was left standing alone in the middle of the antiques shop.

"No problem, I'll just put the cake away myself then," he called out, but they didn't hear him.

"Who are you? What do you want?" demanded Mrs. Kim, as she came out of the kitchen. They'd met several times before, but each time, she demanded to know who he was.

"Uhh, Jess, ma'am. Rory's boyfriend, I'm just dropping off something for Lorelai's party tonight. Lane said it was ok to store it here...?"

"Lorelai is having another party?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yes, she and my uncle got engaged this morning, so we're having a small party to celebrate. More like, just a dinner." It didn't matter how many times he spoke to this woman, she still managed to terrify him.

"Alright, that's fine. You can put it in here." She relented, leading the way to the kitchen.

"Thank you ma'am, I'll just be going now. Can you let Rory know that I've gone back to the diner?"

"I can do that. Enjoy the party."

"Thank you." Jess quickly left the house/store, trying to ignore the nagging feeling that there were at least two women in Stars Hollow who wanted him dead, and the list probably wouldn't stop there.

* * *

"I have a question," Lo began as her sister left the room for a bathroom break. They'd called a time out, because the baby was once again doing a jig on Rory's bladder, so now, it seemed everyone needed to go. "I mean, it's not like this is something I really want to ask, because let's face it, who wants to talk to their parents about this subject, but I just feel like I need to ask, even though it could be seriously damaging to my psyche and-"

"What's your question?" Jess interrupted her as Rory settled herself back on the couch.

"It's about sex."

"Ah geez," Jess muttered, suddenly very uncomfortable.

"Shhh, go on sweetie. What did you want to know?" Rory asked. It seemed that as they grew older, Rory and Jess had both become a lot more like the people who they'd lived with as teenagers. Rory was able to discuss a lot of things with her kids she hadn't been too comfortable talking about at their ages, while Jess, like Luke, preferred to stay away from such subjects.

"Well, it's just... You know, you keep mentioning these little sleep-over's, like the first night at Yale, and I'm assuming that trip to Philly lasted more than a couple of hours. Grandma just busted you waking up together and so... What I'm trying to ask..."

"Were we having sex at this point?" Rory asked, glancing up to make sure Emma wasn't coming back just yet.

"Kind of,"

"Well, we didn't think it was appropriate to tell that part to your sister, but I guess, you're old enough to hear it if you want."

"I'm not entirely sure that I do." Lo mumbled. This was making her very uncomfortable, and she had no idea why she'd even asked in the first place.

"Ok, well, all I'll say is this; things weren't always PG-13, but we weren't tearing each other's clothes off either."

"Ok! I don't think I need to hear anything more on that subject. Ever! Sorry I asked, but umm, thanks."

"Thank god." Jess looked a little pale. His kids knowing he had sex was one thing, (they had to know, because Rory was pregnant), but actually discussing it with them was something else entirely and he never wanted to do it again.

"Daddy, your turn." Emma announced, bouncing back into the room, all refreshed.

"Oh, good." He left the room, thinking over the next bit that he had to tell. This was where his life truly started to take the form of what he was living now.

* * *

Jess stopped in the hallway outside his room; there was someone in there.

Throwing the door open, Jess found Matt on his bed, reading something that no one was meant to read.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, startling the other boy, who looked up from the pages in his hands.

"Jess, hey, I was just..."

Striding across the room, Jess snatched the notebook out of his housemate's hands. "This is none of your business, who said you could read it? What makes you think you can even come in here?"

"I was looking for a book and I-"

"My books are there," Jess pointed to his book case, crammed full. "Not stashed in a drawer beside my bed. What are you doing?" he repeated.

"This is really good man. Have you ever thought about having it published? 'Cause Chris and I have been thinking lately about starting-"

"Matthew, you're a pretty nice guy, and I guess I could live with worse people. But you're really trying my patience here. Don't bother complimenting me again; just stay out of my stuff, alright?"

"Ok, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry." Matt left the room and Jess shoved his notebook back into the drawer. He'd been writing a lot lately, pretty much since he'd been sent away from home, he'd written everything down.

No one had known about it, until now.

It wasn't like he'd been trying to hide it; he just thought it would be revealed on his terms, not by his nosey housemate. But now Matt would tell Chris, they would probably then talk to Rory and Joy and then everyone would know.

"This sucks." He muttered, opening his drawer to retrieve the book he'd just put away, he then pulled a box from the bottom of his wardrobe. There were six other books in there, all completely filled with his thoughts and ramblings. Jess was just glad those hadn't been discovered as well.

* * *

Just as he predicted, Rory called two days later to ask about the mystery notebook, she hadn't heard anything about it before now. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, sounding offended. "I show you everything that I'm writing, but you never said a word."

"This is different to your articles for the paper, Rory. I mean, I don't even know what it is yet. It could be nothing,"

"From the way Matt was raving, it really doesn't sound like nothing." He wasn't sure how to respond to that. In his mind he was just writing to avoid doing something stupid, he wrote down the things he felt to stop himself from punching something, or worse. But there were bits and pieces, mostly in the latest books, that weren't half bad. "He said that when he and Chris open their publishing house, they want you to be the first author they sign."

"Well he and Chris are idiots. I'm not an author."

"But you could be. I mean, you've read almost everything, and you have this great mind, and if you could just sit down and stop shaking it around you could do something like this. I know you can."

"You're probably the only person who thinks that."

"I'm not. But if you don't believe me, maybe you should show something to one of your professors. They would know good work when they read it and I'm certain that what you've written down is good work."

"What if I think about it?" he asked.

"I can live with that. But I'm guessing if we continue to pester you about it, you're less likely to do what we want, right?"

"Probably."

"Ok, well I'll talk to... everyone, and tell them to back off. Hopefully I can get to them before they start calling and showing up."

"Thanks." It was a strange thought. A few years ago, the only person he had in his life was Happy. But now there was also Rory, Tristan, Finn, Matt, Chris, Luke, his mom and TJ, even Paris and Lorelai might try calling to bug him about this. With any luck, Rory would reach them all first though, giving him the time he needed to decide what to do with all of the stuff he had stashed away in his wardrobe.

* * *

"Fortunately for me, she managed to talk everyone out of calling. Except for Happy, of course, because there is very little anyone can talk that woman out of. I'd scared Chris out of mentioning it again, which also extended to Matthew, and everyone else got the message, so I had a little peace. After a few weeks of thinking it over, I finally pulled everything out and dumped it all on the kitchen table in front of the guys."

* * *

"This is it, everything I have." Jess announced as the two guys he lived with stared at him.

"You mean you actually want us to read it?" Chris asked sceptically, keeping his hands to himself, just in case it was a trick.

"I don't know what I want. I just know that Rory says I should trust you with this, so I'm going to go with her gut. Besides, with graduation coming up and Lorelai constantly calling to give me updates on the wedding, I don't really have the time or the energy to debate this with anyone anymore, least of all myself. So, read it, throw it out, burn it, whatever you want. I don't care right now. I have to get to Hartford for a fitting, so I'll be back in a couple of days."

Lorelai had declined her parents offer to pay for the wedding. She had told them that, yes it was tradition for the father of the bride to pay, when the bride was fresh out of college. But when the bride was in her late thirties, it was silly to expect him to fork out all the cash, and that she and Luke were more than willing to do it themselves, especially since it was just going to be a small ceremony and the reception was being held at the Dragonfly.

Despite the nuptials being a small affair, there was still going to be formal wear. And since Luke had asked Jess to be his best man (along with Rory as maid of honour), Jess was being forced into a tux.

He kept telling himself that it wasn't going to be that bad. There would be cake, free-flowing booze, he'd get to dance with Rory (if he chose to dance) and by the end of it all, two people who were meant to be together, would be. All he had to do was get through the final weeks before the ceremony and then keep a straight face while everyone was gushing about how beautiful everything was and how Luke and Lorelai's destiny had finally come to pass.

Keeping a smirk off of his face was going to be the real challenge, but he was confident that with Rory's help, he could do it. And she was already in the process of training him. As he manoeuvred his car through the streets, headed towards the I-80, Jess thought back over his mother's wedding. He'd had no preparation for that one, and like Luke and Lorelai had struggled to stop himself from laughing the entire way through the ceremony, while Rory sat shushing them.

So now he was practicing what they had discussed. Thinking of sad things; famine, avalanches, all sorts of natural disasters; anything to keep himself looking sombre in preparation of the big day.

When his phone rang, Jess flipped it open without looking at the screen. "Hello?"

"Hey, Jessie, whatcha doin?" Happy asked, cheerily on the other end.

"Driving. I'm on my way to Stars Hollow. We're getting fitted for our tuxes tomorrow."

"I know, Rory told me all about it. Have you seen the dresses yet?"

"No, they're both being very secretive. But I heard they looked good."

"Of course they look good. Do you really think Lorelai Gilmore would get married in something that doesn't look good?"

"Hmm, guess not."

"You know, I can't wait for this wedding. I'm going to take so many pictures, and add them to my, 'things to embarrass Jess with' box. One day I'm going to show that to your children, while I tell them a myriad of stories about you misguided youth."

"My children?" Jess repeated, doubtfully. "Sure, you keep living that dream, whatever makes you happy."

"Excuse me, but you cannot deprive me. I'm going to be an awesome aunt, but since I'm an only child, I need you to deliver me my beautiful nieces and nephews, got that?"

"Why don't you just have your own kids?" He asked, slightly confused.

"Oh, I will. But being a mother is different to an aunt. Mom's aren't as well liked by their kids as the aunts are. So I'll need to have some kids around that love me more than they love their own mother."

"I assure you, our kids are going to love Rory more than you."

"Oh my God!" Joy squealed and Jess had to hold the phone away from his ear, muttering to himself,

"Did I really just say that?"

"You're having kids with Rory! Awesome! Oh my god, is she pregnant now? Because that would just be-"

"No! Stop it, ok. I... can we stop talking about this? I'm driving and I don't want to die right now having this conversation."

"But Jess, you just said-"

"I heard what I said. But I wasn't concentrating and you cannot repeat that to anyone." He warned.

"You're having kids with Rory! I am so happy for you!"

"I'm hanging up now."

"No!" Joy cried out. "I'm sorry, I'll be good, I'll stop. Promise."

"Good girl."

"Don't be so condescending, ass."

"Hey, is that any way to talk to the father of your future nieces and nephews?"

"You're mean! If I can't talk about it, neither can you, so shut up."

"Alright, how about we just both don't talk about it, sound fair?"

"I guess."

"Cool, I should probably go. I have a bit of a drive ahead of me; I'm thinking I should concentrate now. So I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"Fine. Leave me to my own devices."

"How about you call your boyfriend? I'm sure he'd be more than willing to distract you from whatever you're supposed to be doing right now." Jess had grown used to their relationship. He liked Tristan, when Jess realised he was going to be around as more than just Rory's friend, he'd forced himself to get to know the guy better. His position in Happy's life seemed pretty permanent, and Jess was working on not hating him just because of who he was dating.

"Ohh, good idea. Bye." She hung up quickly and Jess laughed as he imagined her hitting number two on her speed dial (no matter how they felt about their significant others, they had made a pact to remain each other's number ones.)

Putting his phone back on the passenger seat, Jess settled in to continue his drive.

* * *

"How old were you at this point?" Lo queried, looking at her dad with a grin.

"Ahh, about twenty-two."

"And you knew then that she was going to be the mother of your children?"

"I was completely in love with this girl and I knew she was the one for me. If there was anyone I was going to start a family with, it was Rory Gilmore."

"My husband, the romantic." Rory commented, looking at him adoringly.

"Don't spread that around, ok? I still have a rep to protect."

"No, honey. You don't."

* * *

So, is it pathetic that I have this major desire to include a JavaJunkie wedding in all my Lit's? I don't know why I do it, they just seem to pop up in everything. Anyways, I hope, you all enjoyed that. Review! Please :)


	23. Home

DISCLAIMER: You know the drill.

Thanks for the reviews guys. I should point out that I still live at hme, and this means I've never rented an apartment before, so I pretty much have no clue what I'm talking about here. But hopefully, this make sense. Thanks again to Kassandra27 for the help on this and for making my profile picture even better! Enjoy.

* * *

"Two weeks after we graduated, mom married her perfect man. Everything was amazing. Even though it was a small wedding, it was so important to so many people that everyone had their own little tasks in order to make sure nothing went wrong."

"During that summer, while your mom was bummed about not getting the Reston fellowship, I started up Truncheon with Matt and Chris. They had read my stuff, given me a few notes, and once the adjustments were made, I gave them a proper manuscript. Later that year, _Subsect_ was available in a bunch of independent bookstores."

* * *

As it turned out, not getting the fellowship was a good thing for Rory. Instead she was practically handed the editor's position at the Stars Hollow Gazette. She'd managed to run the Yale Daily News without any major dramas, and everyone associated with the Gazette knew she would do a wonderful job with their small time paper. If the job eventually led to bigger and better things for her, then that would be even better. And once Jess' schooling was finished, and his book was published, he decided it was about time he moved back home. With Luke living in his wife's house, that meant Jess got the apartment all to himself.

"You know, you could probably do a little sprucing in here," Rory observed, looking around from her position on the couch. The apartment looked exactly the same as it had the first time she was up there, except that it was a little larger, due to the wall that had been knocked down a few years ago.

"I don't spruce." He replied, mentally berating himself for uttering that word.

"You're no fun." She pouted as he returned to sit beside her, handing over a soda. "I could help you make it look really pretty up here."

"What if I don't want it to be pretty up here? I mean, I may not be here too long anyway."

"Are you going back to Philly?" she asked, concerned. He hadn't mentioned this before.

"No. I wasn't planning on going that far. Maybe, Peach. Or Sycamore. If there was an apartment we both liked."

"What's wrong with here?" Rory asked, not catching the severity of what he was saying.

"Well, whether he lives here or not, this will always be Luke's apartment; in my mind, at least. So, I was thinking… we could get a place that's ours."

"You want to move in together?" Rory looked up at Jess, stunned. They spent most of their time together, and she had been staying over a lot since Luke had moved in, purely to give the newlyweds their privacy, of course. But she had no idea they were at the moving in stage yet.

"Yeah." Jess answered simply. Rory's mind was racing, and she probably could have rambled on for hours about everything she was thinking, but Jess still managed to remain monosyllabic man.

"Oh, wow! This is… wow!"

"Is there a yes in between those wows?" he asked, a hint of nervousness creeping into his voice. At least she knew he wasn't completely confident in this particular moment.

"How long have you been thinking about this?"

"Couple of days, a week maybe. So, what do you say?

"Yes. I say, definitely yes. Oh my God. I have to tell mom!" she jumped off the couch, headed for the door, but Jess grabbed her hand and pulled her back down into his lap. He kissed her, while caressing her cheek. "Let's start looking tomorrow, ok?" Rory asked, a minute later, resting her head on his chest.

"You got it, now get out of here." he told her and she moved to share her news.

* * *

The next day when they met up in the Gazette office, to peruse the apartment listings in town, Rory sat back with a huff, slightly defeated. "There's nothing in this town. Nobody's moving, how are we supposed to find somewhere to live, if nobody leaves?"

"Somebody will leave. We'll just give it a couple of days."

"But what if they don't?"

"We could widen the search a little, to Hartford, if you want."

"We could do that, I suppose."

"Knock, knock." The office manager, Michelle, popped her head in the door.

"Hey, Michelle, what's up?"

"I've got a couple of additions for the classifieds. I can't quite figure out why I haven't left this town yet. It totally freaks me out." She muttered, dropping some papers onto Rory's desk.

"Tell me about it," Jess replied.

"Well, you got out, and then came back. There must be something really wrong with you."

"No, he just fell in love." Rory explained.

"Ah, that probably would do it. Yeah, ok, well, I'm going on a coffee run. I assume you'd like the usual?"

"Yes please." Rory grinned at the girl. They hadn't been working together long, but they already had a code worked out.

"Jess?"

"I think I'll take a half." He replied. Rory's usual consisted of four coffees, and two Danishes, but he didn't need that much.

"Got it. I'll be back in a few." As the other girl left the room, Rory snatched up the things she'd deposited on her desk. Al needed to hire some batter boys, the mail man was retiring and the post office was looking for new applicants, Rory strongly suspected that Taylor was behind the next ad, even though it didn't have any names listed, just a phone number she didn't recognize; whoever it was, was looking for someone to go around town each week and measure people's lawns, to make sure everyone was growing their grass at an appropriate height.

And there was an apartment for rent!

"Jess, look at this!" she shoved the paper at him and he dropped his book, having returned to reading as she got to work.

"Taylor's nuts," he said, glancing at the grass monitor position.

"No, well, yes he is. But not that one, this," she put the right page on top of the stack, having messed them up in her excitement.

"You found an apartment?" he asked after reading through it.

"Maybe. Would it be completely unethical to accidently leave this out of tomorrow's paper and keep the place for ourselves?"

"Completely. But let's do it anyway."

"Really?"

"Definitely. You want to go now? Or do you still have to work?"

"Well, as soon as I get these fitted into the layout, I'm a free woman. So, I'll get right on that, and then as soon as Michelle gets back with our coffee, we can go, k?"

"Sounds good to me, I'll just continue my search for freedom with Huck and Jim; you let me know when you're ready to go." Rory nodded in agreement and then left the room to finish her last task for the day. She had been proofreading a couple of articles for the next issue. But that could be finished later. She knew there would be space for these in the one that was about to go to print.

Getting very excited over the possibility of living with Jess soon, Rory raced off to finish work. Today was definitely looking up.

* * *

After inspecting the apartment, Rory and Jess told Joshua Vogan, the man who was moving back to Vermont after just a few weeks in town, that they would think about it. They liked the apartment, but didn't want to appear too eager, as he hadn't specified how much the rent would be, and their early interest could possibly drive the price up.

Rory managed to contain herself just long enough for them to get out onto the street. "I want it! I want it! I want it!" she screamed as soon as the door shut behind them.

"So, should we keep looking, or…?" Jess asked, teasingly.

"No! This is perfect, did you like it?"

"I've lived in worse places. It wasn't bad." He replied truthfully. In all honesty, the diner apartment, the house in Philly, and this place, if he did live there, would be the top three homes he'd ever had. Everything before Stars Hollow, even though New York was home, was just awful.

"So, do you think we should go for it?"

"If you really love it, then yes. I think we definitely should. But I'll be happy wherever we end up."

"Oh, this is so exciting! I've never lived with a man before. Well, I mean, besides the few times my dad came to stay, and of course, Terrance was around in the dorm a lot, freshman year. After that, I got very used to seeing Doyle in a bathrobe, before Luke moved in with mom. But I've never lived alone with a man." Rory ranted, not caring how deranged she sounded in her excitement.

"I know what you mean… aside from my mom, I've never lived with any woman at all."

"You spent a year with Jimmy, Sasha and Lily." Rory pointed out.

"Did you just call my father a woman?"

"No. I didn't mean that. But you have lived with woman."

"I guess you're right. Oh well, this will still be something new and different. Because the way I feel about my mother, step mother and step-sister, is very different to the way that I feel about you."

"I'm glad to hear it mister."

"Should we go and tell your mom you were serious, and we actually found somewhere to live?"

"Not yet. I think she's still trying to digest the information from yesterday, maybe tomorrow?"

"Sounds fair, she did just get you back from Yale. Makes sense she wouldn't want to let you go just yet. Although, come to think of it, I've been in Pennsylvania for a while now too, and I don't really enjoy separation too much either."

"Well, we'll just have to come up with a way to cure your separation anxiety, now won't we?"

"I think that would be wise." Jess replied, nodding his head, as he wrapped an arm around Rory's shoulders and kissed the top of her head, while they walked along the street.

* * *

"Mom?" Lorelai turned away from the coffee-maker to look at her daughter. There was something about her tone…

"What's wrong? Was that the photographer? Is there something wrong with the-"

"No. Everything's fine; it was Lane, confirming plans for tonight. But I do need to talk to you about something."

"Ok, should we relocate to the couch? It seems to be the place we have some of our more serious talks."

"Yeah. Ok, let's move." Leaving the coffee to brew, they walked through to the living room and sat on the couch, facing one another.

"So, what's up?"

"Well, you remember how Jess and I told you about moving in together?"

"Yes, I do remember that."

"Ok, so we were looking through the paper and weren't having the best luck-"

"So you changed your mind and you're staying here with mommy forever?" Lorelai interrupted, hopefully.

"But then we found one and we talked to the guy and it's perfect and if we can get everything organized we'll be moving in a couple of weeks."

"Wow, you found somewhere already? So this is really happening?"

"It's really happening."

"Ok, so, a couple of weeks, huh? I guess that means we'll need to start organizing your stuff, packing. We need to get boxes."

"You're ok with this?" Rory had been expecting that she'd have to have to make a case for herself. She didn't think her mom would give in that easy; give her up so quickly.

"Not really. But you're a grown-up, and Jess clearly loves you. If this is something you're sure you want to do, I can't stop you. Although, I will need to instruct my husband to talk to him, make sure he knows that if he ever does anything to hurt you-"

"Thank you mom." Rory leaned forward and hugged her tightly, _that's more like it._ "It means a lot to have your blessing."

"Yeah, well I love ya kid. As long as you're happy, I'm happy." Rory smiled as she buried her face in her mother's hair. This was a little scary, but she definitely wanted to do it. The better her mom took it, the better she felt.

* * *

The first night in their new apartment after the helper elves had all returned home, Jess and Rory sat on their couch, looking around.

"So we're really doing this? No chance of turning back huh?"

"You're sick of me already? Wow, that's gotta be some kind of record." Rory remarked as Jess tightened his hold on her.

"I'm not sick of you. That'll never happen, trust me. I just, I kind of thought this would always be a dream."

"It's not; want me to pinch you?" Rory grinned at him and Jess shook his head

"Maybe later. Let's just sit her for a minute, ok?"

"Ok." They settled back, Rory leaning into Jess' chest as he rested his head on her shoulder, and they let the silence settle over them.

* * *

"So you're twenty-two here?" Lo asked, sitting beside her sister. Em was bouncing in her seat; if the answer was yes, they both knew what would be coming up very soon.

"Bout that, yeah." Jess answered.

"Yay!"

"Do you want us to skip ahead to that?" Rory asked, twisting her ring around on her finger.

The two girls looked at one another, a silent exchange of words between them. "Could we?" Em asked excitedly.

"Sure."

"Alright, so we'd been living together for seven months; our friends had all given their approval for the apartment and Zach and Lane had just gotten married."

"I felt a little ripped off because of that actually. I'd been thinking for a little while about how nice it would be to get married. Zach totally stole my idea, coming into the diner and asking Lane, out of the blue. I mean, they were broken up at the time too, so I really thought I'd get in first."

"Your dad was there when it happened, so was Grandpa Luke. But neither of them mentioned it to me or mom. They said they thought Lane would want to tell us herself, but we're pretty sure they just forgot." Rory added.

"I didn't forget. I was too mad about it." Jess replied, looking at his wife before returning his attention to his daughters. "So then I realized I had to wait a bit, or we might have had some bizarre double-double wedding on our hands."

* * *

After Lane and Zach's wedding, while they were on their honeymoon in Mexico, Jess had to return to Philly for an open-house at Truncheon.

Rory elected to stay home, to fix up some work commitments, before getting a train down there the night of.

Left to his own devices for hours each day, once the "meetings" were done with, Jess was at a loss as to what to do. Three days away from Rory found him walking along a street, heading towards a café he knew served pretty good coffee. He needed that little connection to her, even though she would be arriving in a few hours, he was feeling very homesick.

Sitting at a table by the window, Jess looked outside, across the street.

Downing the bulk of his coffee, he slapped some money onto the table before racing out the door to the store that had caught his eye.

He'd been planning to ask Rory to marry him when Zach blew in and asked Lane; but that wedding was done and now there were just two things in his way.

Standing in a jewellery store in the city of Brotherly Love, Jess Mariano scanned the selection of rings, while trying to work out how to ask Lorelai Gilmore if he could please marry her daughter.

* * *

Ok, so I think I got that grass monitor thing from "Flatscreen Saga", did I? Sorry if I stole that, you can have it back now Andra-ggfan. And also, the heart-shaped pancakes from Luke's proposal came from turkygirl's "For The Rest Of My Life". Both excellent fics, you should check them out. And don't forget to review.


	24. Dinner & A Show

AN: So, I've got a major headache, and it's bad enough for me to take a day off work, I even had to come home early last night. Not fun. Anyway, I'm avoiding looking at screens as much as possible, just looking at this really quickly to make sure all mistakes have been removed, coz if I remember correctly, there were quite a few on Saturday. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, and I'll hopefully be up for updating soon. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: as usual, I don't own any of it…

* * *

Jess sat on the couch in Lorelai's house, drumming his fingers on the arm as Lorelai and Luke sat across from him, curiously waiting for him to explain himself.

"So Jess, not that we don't love having you here," Luke began, putting an end to the silence. "But we both have to get to work sometime today, and I'm assuming you've probably got some of your own work to do as well, so what's up?"

"Ok, hopefully this doesn't sound too crazy."

"Jess, have you met my wife? Nothing sounds crazy to her, and I've heard just about everything in our time together; go ahead."

"Alright… I, well I wanna marry Rory." _Ok, apparently we're just diving in,_ "And I know how important the two of you are to her and how important she is to you. So I figured this was probably worth a shot. After all, I can't very well go behind your back can I?"

"What took you so long?" Lorelai asked with a grin.

"Huh?"

"You guys have been heading for marriage since… I don't know when, but I could totally see it. I figured when you moved in together I wouldn't have to wait too much longer. But you've been depriving me!"

"De-depriving you..?" Jess repeated.

"Yeah, go do it already."

Luke was still silent, and Jess looked at his uncle, trying to figure out what he was thinking. He didn't have a clue. "Luke?"

"I'm happy for you Jess."

"You are?"

"Of course; this is great."

"Thank you guys. I really appreciate your support on this."

"Come on! Go ask her!" Lorelai instructed, pointing to the door.

"I can't do it now, she's at work."

"Well, when are you going to ask her? I need to know these things so that I can start getting ready for the happy news."

"I'm not sure when. Soon." Jess replied.

"Do you have a ring?"

"Yes."

"Oh! Can I see it?"

"Lorelai, calm down. You'll see it when Rory's wearing it."

"Luke, you aren't a woman; you don't understand these things."

"I've got a vague idea of how I'm going to do it," Jess interrupted their squabbling and they turned back to him, both smiling. "But it won't be today, so can I trust you to keep this to yourselves for now?"

"I'll do my best to keep her quiet." Luke replied. Lorelai glared at her husband, as Jess sat a little more comfortably.

Next step, getting up the courage to actually ask Rory.

* * *

Rory walked out of the bedroom and looked at Jess standing at the kitchen counter, he looked very odd. And things had been a little off for days, ever since they got back from Philadelphia actually.

"Jess, can we talk?" she asked, tentatively, walking over to stand beside him.

"Yeah, sure. I ordered Chinese, just got the usual; that ok?"

"Uh, sure. I don't mind."

"Ok, good. So what's up?"

"Are you feeling ok?"

"I feel fine."

"Are you sure? Because for a couple of days, I think things have been a little strained between us. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out if I did something, or maybe it's something with work, but I just don't-"

"You haven't done anything, and work is fine. No more stressful than usual. I've just been thinking about a lot of stuff, that's all."

"Thinking about what? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No. It's… I'm fine. I've thought, and everything's fine."

"Everything's fine?" Rory repeated, sounding the words out, as if trying to decipher a secret meaning Jess didn't want her to know.

"I promise." Jess replied, placing a kiss on her forehead as the doorbell rang. "Can you get the food?" He asked, "I'll pick a movie."

"Sure." Grabbing her wallet, Rory walked to the door, as Jess shoved his hand into his pocket to finger the box he'd kept hidden since Rory arrived at Truncheon.

* * *

Halfway through _Flashdance_, Rory started moving cartons around on the table. Jess picked up the remote to pause the movie. "What's wrong?"

"I think they forgot the fortune cookies."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. They're not here." She replied, sitting back, looking sad.

"I'm sure I saw them," Jess stood up and moved to the kitchen to continue the search. "Here we go." He tipped two cookies onto a plate and returned to the couch. "I knew they were in there," he handed the plate to Rory, keeping the other cookie for himself.

"Oh goody! I wonder what our fortunes will say. You think it's gonna tell us we'll be rich and famous? Are we going to live happily ever after? Or will our lives crash and burn?"

"Jeez, just open the cookie would you?"

"Fine, fine. I just like to think about things, that's all."

"I've noticed." His eyes were getting shifty, and he could feel his hands shaking, just a little. _I need to do this now. Has to be now!_

"Ok, seriously Jess, what's the matter? You look pale. Was there something wrong with your moo shoo? Coz I thought it was ok."

"No, the moo shoo's fine, I just... It's fine. Open your cookie." He instructed her, slipping his hand into his pocket and discreetly removing the ring.

"Ok, ok." she cracked the cookie open, and frowned. "I got a dud. I have no fortune, man this sucks!"

"Are you sure?" Jess asked taking it from her and moving the pieces around in the palm of his hand. "Hang on, here's something."

"That's not a - Oh my God! Is that what I think it is?" Rory asked, staring wide-eyed at Jess as he dropped from his seat, to kneel in front of her on the floor, having put the cookie pieces on the table.

"Rory, I love you. More than you'll ever know, and there's only one thing that could possibly make my life better than it already is," Jess began; Rory continued to stare, silently. "I… ok, I can't do the speech anymore, because I wasn't really expecting you to be silent this long. So I'm just going to get to the point here. Will you marry me?"

"Oh, finally! Yes!" Rory replied quickly, grinning like an idiot. "I didn't think you'd ever stop talking. Which is a very strange turn of events," she mused

"You- yes?"

"Yes. Definitely yes. Were you expecting a different answer? A shorter one perhaps?"

"No. A longer one actually. I kind of expected you'd want to think about it." He had spent quite a bit of time thinking this over, and she was Lorelai Gilmore's daughter. The two of them were well known for their crazy lists (which were mostly a Rory thing anyway) and the incessant need to discuss things long after it was needed. But here was this major question, and Rory hadn't even hesitated?

"What's to think about?"

"Big life-altering decision?" Jess asked with a shrug.

"Ok, I'm sorry; do you want to marry me?"

"Yes, that's why the proposal, the ring…"

"Stop trying to talk me out of it then and kiss me!" Jess moved to comply with her wishes, but Rory put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Wait!"

"Oh, what could I possibly have done this quickly to turn you against me?"

"I want the ring first," Rory replied, holding her left hand out for Jess to slip the ring on. Once it sat on her finger she stared down at it for a moment, before looking back up. "Ok, you may continue now." She informed him and Jess moved back up on to the couch in order to kiss his fiancé more comfortably.

* * *

"And we'll just skip the happy engagement copul-"

"Charlotte!" Rory and Jess yelled at the same time, cutting off the end of her sentence, as they both glanced at Emma.

"What? It's not like I said s-e-x, or some other word that she would know the meaning of."

"I can spell you know," Em pointed out, grinning at the three of them. Lo looked at her for a moment.

"Oh crap!" she dropped her head into her hands, and then peeked back at her parents. "Sorry."

"Come on, I'm eight, not four. And besides, Lorelai Gilmore is my grandmother, and you allowed Finn Rothschild to have a lot to do with my upbringing. It's not like I've never heard about sex before."

"We know sweetie, it's just that, you're our little girl, and we'd like to keep you…"

"Innocent and protected," Jess suggested.

"Right, innocent and protected, for as long as we can."

"Ok, well good luck with that. But can we please put my transformation into Snow White on hold? I want to hear the rest of the story. Minus the happy engagement couple; whatever that is." The other three laughed as Emma sat, puzzled. "What? What did I say?"

"Nothing, Emmy, just… Never mind."

* * *

"Hey, mom, can you and Luke stop by the apartment this morning?" Rory asked her mother the next day. They'd been talking for twenty minutes and still there had been no mention of weddings or rings or anything of the sort. Rory was very proud of herself for holding out this long, but now she wanted to spill.

"Sure Hon, is something wrong?" Jess came up behind Rory and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning in to kiss her neck.

"Morning my beautiful fi-"

"No!" Rory replied to her mother, louder than she really needed to be. "Nothing's wrong, I just want to see you guys. That's all." She added, waving Jess away. The morning sunlight hit her ring at just the right angle and she watched it sparkle for a moment.

"You'll see us tonight in Hartford, is that not soon enough?" Lorelai asked. Even after all the money for Rory's schooling had been paid back, Friday Night dinners continued, because by that point, they had all grown accustomed to them, and they were even, at times, enjoyable.

"I'd really prefer to see you before then, but if you don't have time-"

"No, it's ok. We can make time. Luke's at the diner now, how about after my breakfast, I convince him to leave his post and stop in for a visit with his favorite nephew and step-daughter?"

"We're his only nephew and step-daughter." Rory pointed out.

"You say potato, I say potato," Lorelai replied.

"Ok, well yeah. That sounds great. We'll see you soon."

"Alright, just make sure your live-in lover is wearing a t-shirt. I don't need to see that right after I've eaten," Lorelai added.

"I'll do my best to convince him to dress. See you when you get here." Rory hung up and turned to Jess who stood, leaning back against the kitchen counter, drinking his coffee.

"Why do I have to get dressed?" he asked, running a hand through his messy bed hair. He was currently without a shirt and Rory would have liked for him to stay that way, but she knew this announcement would probably go better if everybody were fully clothed.

"Mom and Luke are coming over soon. So, when they get here, if you could refrain from being naked, I'd really appreciate it."

"I distract you don't I? My perfect body, you just can't keep your thoughts straight."

"Exactly. So, go make yourself presentable. I want you looking all good and worthy when I tell them I've decided to marry you."

"You've decided?" he repeated, walking back to the bedroom. "Like it was all your idea, had nothing to do with me…" he muttered to himself, rooting through his drawers.

"I can hear you, you know?"

"I know."

"At least we'll be going into this marriage, knowing how we really feel about one another." Rory added, as Jess came back out of their room, pulling a shirt over his head, and smiling at her.

"I hate you too darling."

"Hmm, I'm so glad we're on the same page."

* * *

Jess was in the kitchen, putting on a pot of coffee, when he heard a loud whispered conversation from the other side of the door.

"Do you think this is it? Did he ask her?"

"I don't know Lorelai! Can we just go in and find out?"

"Luke! My kid may have just gotten engaged. A little enthusiasm would be appreciated, please."

"I'll be enthusiastic when I know there's something to be enthusiastic about. Can you just knock?"

"You're no fun." Smirking, Jess reached out and opened the door, to reveal Lorelai with her hand up, about to knock. "Don't do that hoodlum! It's scary."

"The amazing Kreskin strikes again,"

"You heard our thoughts and knew we were out here?" Lorelai asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, sure." Luke shook his head as Jess stepped to the side and let them in.

"Must you encourage her?"

"Yes, because it's fun to watch as the back of your neck turns that purplish-red color when she makes you crazy. And the knowledge that I don't have to live with her makes it all better."

"Watch out. All women become like their mother's." Luke warned.

"That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his." finished Jess and Lorelai together as Rory came into the room, pulling her hair up into a pony-tale.

"Jess, are you quoting Jennifer Aniston movies again?" she asked, smiling sweetly at him, while moving to hug her mother.

"No. I was quoting Oscar Wilde."

"I was doing a Shirley MacLaine." Lorelai confessed.

"That's alright then, I guess."

"So tell me, why did I have to drag myself away from my husband's amazing coffee?" Lorelai asked, unable to keep the grin from her face. She was certain this was the day.

"Oh, no reason." Rory replied. "I just wanted to see you guys is all."

"Really? That's it. You'll see us at dinner."

"Yeah, well, I did sort of want to show you this," she added, holding her hand out in front of her so that both Luke and Lorelai could see the ring that hadn't been there the day before.

"Oh my God! You're getting married! I'm so happy for you!" Lorelai threw her arms around her daughter as the two men stood back, simply smiling and waiting for their eardrums to repair.

"Congratulations Rory." Luke added, once her mother had released her and he was able to hug her as well.

"Thanks Luke."

"Who wants coffee?" Jess asked, as the pot finished. The Gilmore's responded affirmatively while Luke declined. Before he had a chance to say anything else, Jess handed him a cup of tea.

"Thanks," the older man smiled at his nephew and the two women moved away with their coffees to discuss how it had all happened. "You call your mom yet?"

"She's next on the list." Jess promised.

"Good." They both leaned against the counter, watching the women they loved talk happily.

* * *

"Thank you guys so much for waiting for us," Rory gushed, throwing an arm around her mother, as she and Jess arrived, slightly later than she would have liked. She had called Lorelai while they were on the road, and just before they rang the doorbell, Lorelai and Luke had returned to the driveway to wait for the other two.

"Yeah, I don't know how well my presence will be received tonight." Jess added.

"Oh Jess, when will you learn? Rory is the only welcome presence in my parent's house. Everyone else is simply there to fill the chairs."

"Good to know."

"You guys should relax." Luke told them. "I wasn't exactly loved by the residents of this house, but I… ok, well they managed to contain their dislike for me, long enough for us to get through the vows. But the point is Jess, Richard likes you, which means that you at least have a foot in the door, and Emily will eventually come around."

"Let's do this," Rory decided, taking Jess' hand before reaching out to ring the bell.

"Good luck kid," Lorelai whispered as they waited for the maid to open the door.

* * *

"So Jess, may I ask, what motivated you to come to dinner tonight?" Emily asked as the six of them sat down to eat.

"Oh, Emily. We told him that he was welcome anytime he wanted to come to dinner. Don't badger the boy." Richard reprimanded his wife.

"Well, actually," Jess looked at Rory who bit her lip and nodded. It was time. "Rory and I do have something we want to share with the two of you."

"This sounds very interesting," Richard replied, as his daughter, her husband, and the two younger dinner guests shared a look.

"Grandma, Grandpa, Jess and I…" Jess squeezed Rory's hand in encouragement. "Jess asked me to marry him last night, and I said yes." The two older Gilmore's were silent for a moment. "So, we're getting married, and I just thought you'd like to know," she added, glancing at her mom.

"Happy news guys! It's ok to crack a smile in this situation; we all promise we won't tell."

"That's wonderful! Congratulations, you two," Richard stood up and moved to embrace his granddaughter, before shaking her fiancé's hand.

"Well, I suppose this calls for a celebration." Emily decided. "I'll see if Jodi can dig up some champagne," she left the room, and Rory turned her attention to her grandfather.

"Don't worry about her; she'll come around to the idea. I personally think that this is excellent news though. I'm very happy for the two of you."

"Thank you Grandpa."

"Thank you, sir."

"Yeah, Dad. We like having a nice guy to tell our happy news to."

"Do you have your own news to share, Lorelai?" Richard asked, amused.

"No, no. nothing to share. I'm just saying, it's nice to…"

"Well, she says she'll take a look, but I wouldn't hold your breath. How about a celebratory pitcher of martini's?" Emily asked, re-entering the room.

"Oh, sure Grandma, that sounds great." Rory replied.

* * *

The next night Rory set the table for eight, and made sure her friends all had drinks, as Jess finished cooking. Once the food was ready, everyone moved from the lounge chairs to sit at the table. Rory and Jess had each made a few calls the day before, giving out dinner invites to their closest friends to tell them about the engagement. They had decided to do the bulk of it together. Chris and Matt weren't able to make it, but everyone else was there.

As the eight friends sat gathered around the small dinner table, Finn fixed Rory with an irritated look and put his glass down on the table. "Alright, that's it. What's going on?"

"What do you mean Finn?" she asked, looking at him, slightly puzzled.

"I mean, why the dinner party? What's the big secret? Are you about to tell us you're both shipping off to Nam and you thought it best to supply us with food and liquor first?"

"No. Nobody's shipping off to Nam," Rory replied, taking Jess' hand under the table.

"Well, actually…"

"Shut up, Jess. This is serious."

"Ok, fine, serious moment; everybody ready?"

"Just get to the announcement already!" Joy cried out. "The suspense is killing me, and if you don't tell me soon, I'll have to kill you."

"Alright, alright. Here goes." Sharing one final look, Rory and Jess turned back to their friend's expectant faces. "We're getting married."

Joy screamed, knocking her chair over as she raced around to the other side of the table to hug her two friends. Lane clapped a hand over her mouth as her eyes welled up with tears; her pregnancy hormones kicking in. Paris simply smiled as she stood up to hug the two. Tristan moved to shake Jess' hand, but ended up hugging him instead, and then moving to envelope Rory in a tight embrace, while Zach stayed in his seat, saying something about how cool it would be to have another married dude around.

Once everyone had calmed down; the screaming had stopped, and Lane's tears subsided, everyone realized that Finn was yet to say a word.

"Finn?" Rory spoke quietly, and he shook his head, the dazed look fading slightly.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

"Jess asked me to marry him. And I said yes." She replied slowly, allowing the words to sink in.

"Righto, good to hear. Excuse me." He stood up and started walking towards the doors leading to the small terrace. With a nod from Jess, Tristan, who was closest, moved into Finn's path, cutting off his exit.

"What's up buddy? Where are you going?"

"I have nothing left, this is the only way!" Finn announced dramatically as he tried to push past his friend, but Tristan wouldn't budge.

"Finn, Rory may be getting married, but she still loves you. You know that."

"This is how it starts! Lorelai got married, then Lane. Now Rory and next it'll be you and Joy. Before you know it, there'll be a bunch of screaming rug-rats – you two have already started," he added, pointing to Lane and Zach "What'll happen to me then, huh? I have to do this. We'll all be better off!"

The two men struggled for a bit as their friends looked on, partly in amusement, and partly in horror. With a final shove, Tristan managed to get Finn into a nearby chair, slapping him across the face for good measure.

"For God's sake, Rothschild! Grow a pair; it's time to be a man!" Tristan yelled as Finn rubbed his cheek.

"I love it when he gets all military man," Joy whispered to Rory.

"Thanks mate, I think I really needed that. I'm sorry, you guys. Congr-" as Finn attempted to stand up, Tristan slapped him a second time and he landed back in the seat. "What the bloody hell's the matter with you?" he demanded, standing up again and shoving his friend. "I'm fine now, what'd you do that for?"

"Sorry. I was in the moment."

"In the moment my arse… Bastard." Finn walked back across the room to where the newly engaged couple stood, Rory anxiously awaiting Finn's next reaction. "I'm sorry about that; I just get a little emotional about these types of things." He explained.

"I remember. It's nice to know you love me as much as my mother," Rory remarked as everyone thought back to the day Finn discovered Lorelai was to be married. He'd thrown open the diner door, stomped out into the street and threw himself down onto the middle of the road, waiting for a car to come along and run him over. Luckily it had been a slow day in town, and very few people were driving along that street, the ones that were, saw him in time and managed to stop, while Jess and Rory comforted the distraught twenty-one year old, and brought him back inside.

"Yeah, Finney, if you don't react this way when it's my turn, I'm going to be very jealous." Joy informed him, with a dazzling smile; Jess watched as Tristan paled slightly, Finn's words and Joy's finally penetrating his mind.

"Don't worry Love, I'm sure I'll be able to work myself up into a right tizzy when the time comes."

"That's very good to know." The girls quickly migrated to one corner of the living room while the boys sat around the table. Jess watched Tristan as he sat, staring at his girlfriend, while nursing a beer. He was clearly freaking out. Joy was not ready for marriage, she had only been fooling around with Finn, but still, Tristan was about to go into a tailspin and Jess knew that something needed to be done.

* * *

OK, so Flashdancce, not exactly the most rmantic movie ever, but, my reason behind that, which I just realised, was Michael Nouri. We're watching The OC, The Party Favour just finished, and I figued that was why Jess chose that particular movie, anyway, I'm going to close my eyes and hope that the pain goes away now. But please, give me something to look forward to when I (hopefully) wake up pain free tomorw, review!


	25. American Gigilo & Scotch At The Club

So, we had the proposal, ripped directly from Bride Wars, Finn's overly dramatic response to the news, and now, it is time to give the happy couple a proper send-off into marriage. Or something like that, um, yeah, bucks and hens parties (if you're not Australian, that probably sounds really weird) always fun, in my book, although I've never officially been to one. Anyway, thank you all for the reviews, and I hope this chapter is as fun to read as it was to write.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

* * *

"So, how's it going?" Tristan asked Jess, over the phone. It had been a few days since the announcement dinner. As far as everyone knew, Finn hadn't made any more attempts on his own life, but Jess was thinking it was about time he got to the bottom of that issue with Tristan.

"I'm fine. You on the other hand…"

"Whatever Joy told you I did, I'm sure she's blowing it out of proportion."

"I saw the look on your face the other night at dinner."

"You mean, my 'oh my God! I'm so happy that two of my very good friends are getting married', face?"

"Yes. But then I also saw your 'holy crap, my girlfriend wants to get married' face. What was that?"

"Nothing!" Tristan replied, quickly. "It was just, uh… a moment. But everything's fine now."

"So you aren't about to freak out on her and break her heart? Coz I swear if you-"

"I know you'll break my face. I get that, I'm not going to do anything stupid, I promise."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"Glad to tell it. Was there anything else I could do for you?"

"Nah, that's it."

"Just wanted to put the fear of God into me, huh?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, ok. I have to get to a meeting, but I'll talk to you guys later, alright?"

"Sure thing." They hung up and Jess smiled. Mission accomplished. Now he just needed to make sure Happy never found out about that. She would probably be really pissed with him for butting in. But it had to be done.

* * *

"After we announced the engagement to our whole world, I started going to more Friday night dinners. Luke didn't go every week, but I just thought that if I wanted the Gilmore's to like me, I should put in a little effort. And I really did want your great-grandma to stop hating me, so it made sense. Seeing as I was going to be family, it just seemed natural. The third week after our announcement, Richard pulled me aside to talk in his office."

* * *

"Jess, I wanted to apologize again for my wife's behavior. She's under the impression that there's better out there for Rory, however she's alone in that opinion, I assure you. You're a fine young man, and I can see you make my granddaughter very happy."

"Well, thank you sir. I appreciate that."

"One day you'll understand where she's coming from. If you have a daughter, no man will ever be good enough for her, as I once believed Luke was not properly suited to Lorelai."

"No, I do understand that. Sometimes I think that Emily's right, but I'll continue to hope Rory never realizes it," he replied, causing the older man to laugh.

"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about; Rory loves you very much. Now, I wanted to give you something," he added, opening a drawer in his desk and pulling out a leather bound book.

"You don't have to do that," Jess objected, looking at the cover as Richard sat back. "How did you get this?" he asked, flipping through the pages. The front cover was embossed with the words _Subsect and Other Short Stories by Jess Mariano_. And as he flipped through the pages, after _Subsect_, he found four stories he'd finished, but hadn't considered publishable, or worthy of being read, or something to that effect. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, he just knew that, unlike _Subsect_ they weren't really important stories that needed to be told.

But this was still a remarkable gift.

"I paid a little visit to your friends last week when I was in Philadelphia. They did a little digging though your old room and managed to find some more of your work, and I had a good friend of mine bind it all together."

"Thank you so much. This is amazing."

"You're very welcome. Think of this as an engagement present; I know Emily will have signed my name to whatever she's picked out, but I wanted to personally give something to show you that you have an ally in this house."

"I really appreciate that, sir. Thank you."

"Think nothing of it, my boy. Now, what do you say we go and rescue Luke from the torture of those three?"

"Oh no, I say we leave him to stew a little longer. Its fun, don't you think?"

"It certainly is, but I think I'll go back in anyway, get myself a scotch; care to join me?"

"Why not?" Jess stood, and followed his fiancé's grandfather back to where the rest of the family sat. It wasn't until they actually sat down with their drinks that they realized what the latest topic of conversation was.

"I still think June would be beautiful. And if I call in the morning, I'm certain I could get you The Plaza. How does that sound?" Emily asked; Jess glanced at Rory, not sure what they were talking about.

"Well, Grandma, The Plaza does sound wonderful, but-"

"Excellent! It's settled then; the first available June date at The Plaza. Oh, this will be a beautiful wedding Rory, just you wait and see." Jess could tell that the smile Rory displayed for her grandmother was strained and fake. But this was the first ounce of happiness either of them had seen from Emily when it came to their impending marriage, and neither of them wanted to anger her. Not just yet, anyway.

They shared a look that said, '_we'll talk about it later, work out a way to fix this._' For now though, they would just let Emily prattle on. After all, Lorelai hadn't really accepted her mother's help at all when it came to her wedding, so surely they would be able to compromise and allow a few of Emily's idea's in.

* * *

"Did she turn into a total wedding Nazi like Izzie?" Lo asked, causing her sister to giggle. Rory was the resident Christmas Nazi, like Isobel Evens, from Roswell, but they were yet to hear of an actual wedding Nazi, besides the freaks on Bridezilla's and Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy.

"Well, kind of, yeah." Rory replied. "You see, your dad thought that since my Grandma was taking an interest in the wedding, this meant he was off the hook, and she no longer hated him. So he took that as a sign that he didn't need to come to dinner the next week. My Grandpa was out of town, and so, it was just us girls…"

* * *

"Man, our husbands suck. How could they just send us into the lion's den with no protection?" Lorelai asked as she and Rory got out of the Jeep. They carpooled every now and then, in an attempt to help the environment. But since they used their cars to drive all over town, when it was an easy walk, they sort of counter-acted themselves.

"Well, Jess isn't my husband yet. So he doesn't really have any reason, legal or otherwise, to throw himself at Grandma's mercy every week."

"Luke doesn't come every week, but I have this vague memory of a wedding; me in a nice dress, your boy looking pissed off in a tux… Did I imagine all that?"

"No, you did not." Rory replied amused.

"So, if he is in fact my husband, shouldn't he be here, positioning himself between myself and Adolf?"

"Maybe it just means that Luke doesn't love you as much as Jess loves me."

"Or maybe it means that Luke cares about his business, you ever think of that? He's at work now, unlike Jess who hasn't checked in at Truncheon in weeks. I know more of what's going on with Chris and Matt than he does."

"I doubt that's true." Rory objected. Those two were among Jess' closest friends, despite him constantly complaining about how irritating they could be he did care about them a great deal.

"You wanna bet?" Lorelai countered. "Chris is growing his hair out into an afro. And Matt broke up with Nadia last week. Well, actually, she broke up with him, but that's not the story that we're sharing with the general public."

"I'm sure Jess is aware of both of those tidbits of information." Rory replied as her mother shook her head.

"No, I really don't think he is. It doesn't matter anyway. I know Luke loves me, whatever you say."

"I never said he didn't love you. Just that-"

"Ding dong." Lorelai spoke over her daughter as she pressed the doorbell to summon a maid.

"Mom!"

"No, I'm sorry, I can't hear you, I'm taking off my coat and handing it to the maid." She replied, as she did those things. "And now I'm walking through the foyer, pouring myself a drink and sitting on the couch, where I also can't hear you, because I'm listening so intently for my mother's arrival. Sorry Rory."

"Mom, come on!"

"Hello girls, I'm so glad to see you," Emily announced, entering the room. Rory shot her mother a look, but Lorelai ignored her, smiling at her own mother.

"What's that you got there Mom?" she asked as Emily placed a large book on the coffee table.

"Oh just a few ideas for the wedding I've had over the week. I thought you might like to take a look Rory, maybe take it home to show Jess?"

"That's really nice of you Grandma, really. But Jess and I-"

"Oh, you're not about to tell me you already have everything planned out are you? The ceremony at the gazebo, burgers and fries for the dinner? So help me God, if you carry a ketchup dispenser down the aisle... Honestly Rory, you're a grown woman. What may have seemed like a cute fantasy once upon a time is nowhere near how a proper wedding should be. This is your fault." She added, pointing at Lorelai.

"Me? What did I do? I'm just sitting here, see, church mouse."

"You've influenced this girl for far too long Lorelai. Where do you think she would have gotten those ideas from?"

"Well, actually mom, if I remember correctly, you were the first person to suggest a wedding reception be held in the diner. If I'd known you were really serious, I may have just used those ideas. I mean, if I could have had Rory carrying fries, then we would have had a great little snack during the ceremony. Pure genius!"

"What does an aneurism feel like?" Emily muttered to herself as Lorelai snickered.

"I'd be happy to take a look Grandma," Rory interrupted. "I'm sure Jess would enjoy it too. So, how about I just take this home and I call you in the morning with my thoughts?"

"Thank you Rory, that's all I ask." Rory nodded dutifully as she picked up the book and placed it beside herself underneath her purse.

* * *

The next morning, however, Rory didn't make a call to Hartford. She hadn't even mentioned the book to Jess when she got in the night before. But now, while he was locked away in the tiny spare room he referred to as a study, she sat on the couch, flipping through her grandmother's idea of the perfect wedding.

She had to admit that the pictures displayed over the pages did show a beautiful wedding, or more accurately, about five beautiful weddings. But like her mother, Rory was thinking simple, and these were anything but.

Just as she was about to call her mom, to brainstorm ideas on how to get Emily to back off, the phone rang, and thinking it was Lorelai, working on the same wavelength, Rory picked up, with a smile.

"Hi,"

"Rory, when you tell a person you're going to call, it's customary to actually make that call."

"Grandma, I'm sorry. I was just about-"

"Don't try to explain young lady. I know where this attitude comes from. At least tell me you took a look through the things I picked out for you."

"I did, everything was stunning. You have amazing taste," Rory replied, hoping to soothe the older woman.

"Which did you like the most?" Emily asked, excited.

"Oh, well they all looked great."

"Yes, yes, but what was your favorite?"

"I guess… maybe the second dress, and um… oh yeah, the flowers and table settings from the fourth."

"Oh yes, those were lovely. I'm so glad!" Rory opened her mouth to reply, but her grandmother continued. "I'm so happy about this Rory; you're going to look gorgeous in that dress."

"Thank you Grandma, I just wanted-"

"I'm actually about to head out for a bit Rory, but I'll stop by and pick you up tomorrow morning, alright? We'll take a look at that little boutique I found the dress you like in. Then we can make a whole day of it, picking out invitations and everything else. Won't that be fun?"

"Uhh…"

"Excellent. I'll see you tomorrow, be ready at nine sharp." Emily hung up before Rory could say another word. She sat for a moment, trying to think of how she could get her point across to her grandmother.

There were six months until the wedding date that had been picked. Six months worth of dinners in which Rory could try and bring up the subject. Now all she needed was to get someone on her side and help her talk her grandmother out of the big wedding she was envisioning.

"Jess!" she called out, standing up and walking through the apartment to where he sat, working. "Jess, I need your help,"

"Hang on one second, I'm almost done," he replied, keeping his eyes trained on the screen, his fingers moving rapidly across the keys.

"No, it's ok. I'll come back later."

* * *

"But she didn't." Jess concluded. "I was so out of it that day. It took hours for me to come out of my trance, and a whole lot longer to remember she needed to talk."

"Actually, you never remembered."

"I did too. We talked, didn't we? There was a conversation."

"Right, there was a conversation. Of course. How could I forget?"

"I don't know."

"So are you saying you went through with a wedding you hated, just to please great grandma Emily?" Lo asked, curiously. From the pictures she'd seen and the stories she'd heard, her parents had a beautiful wedding and they'd both been very happy. This story was completely contradicting that though.

"No, I personally loved our wedding. It was an amazing day, actually." Rory replied.

"How? I mean, if she was controlling everything-"

"We were in love, and wanted to get married, that was all there was to it."

* * *

Rory sat on the couch, furiously typing before her caffeine buzz wore off. She had an article to turn in before the end of the day and wanted to have it done so she could get back to contemplating her problems.

"And save!" she hit the corresponding button, lifting her hands above her head in triumph as she finally finished.

Now she was free to think about what was bothering her.

Her wedding.

Well, not the wedding, per se, but how it had come together in the planning stages. She had been so unsure of what she wanted that, at first it made perfect sense to let her grandmother take over most of the preparations. Rory hadn't even had that much input when it came to her dress.

The dress!

She jumped off the couch and raced down the hall to her bedroom and hurriedly pulled the garment bag out of the back of the wardrobe.

Removing the dress she found nothing out of the ordinary. It looked just the same as it had the day she first tried it on, and the day she'd brought it home.

But still…

It was strapless, white, with a little design across the bodice that continued down the back. But it wasn't all one color. There was a strip of blue that almost perfectly matched her eyes, which was also featured down along the back, and across the bottom, where the dress opened up.

Rory quickly removed her jeans and t-shirt before lifting the dress and putting it on. It wasn't one of those things that required five people's assistance, she could do it all herself.

As she stood in front of the mirror, turning from side to side she tried to remember what it was she had most liked about it.

But she couldn't think of a thing. _Maybe the blue…?_

"Oh crap!" whirling around, Rory saw Jess standing in the doorway, his hand coming up to cover his eyes as he started to back up. "I'm sorry, I didn't know… Can we just say it doesn't count if it's less than five minutes?"

"No, wait!" Rory called him back but he kept his eyes closed. "I need your help. There's something… off about all this. Look again." She requested, but he shook his head. "Jess, please." Slowly, opening one eye at a time, Jess took in the whole picture. "Now, I'm supposed to have my hair up, kinda like this," she showed him, twisting her hair up into the bun that her grandma liked so much. "What do you think?"

"You look beautiful," he replied simply.

"I just… I don't know." She sat on the bed in a huff and Jess came to sit beside her.

"You don't know what?"

"If this is right. It doesn't feel right, any of it."

"You mean the wedding?"

"Well, yeah. No, I mean, I want to marry you. Completely. But all this… The dress, all those flowers, and the food, none of it is what I want. I didn't know what I wanted; now all I know is what I don't want. I was envisioning our wedding to be like your proposal, you know. Simple, intimate, just us. Well, not just us. Mom and Luke and your parents have to be there, and a few others too I guess. But this circus grandma's organizing, it's all wrong. I just want it to be us, you know? Just you and me." She finished explaining and Jess nodded, threading their fingers together.

"That's what I want too. I love you and I just want to marry you. None of that stuff matters to me; as long as you're there and I'm there and it's legal, I'll be happy. So if you want to cancel stuff, remove your grandmother from the situation, I'd be more than happy to help you start again."

"But the wedding's four weeks away, how can we pull that off?"

"If we want simple, we can do that in four weeks, easy."

"Boys aren't supposed to want to be involved in wedding plans though." Rory objected with a grin.

"Rory I'm a man. I'm more mature than that."

"Since when?"

"Did you want me to call the whole thing off? Save you from having to tell Emily to stop being so Emily-like?"

"No, no. I'm sorry. You're a mature man. I'm sorry, I love you." She told him, trying to turn his face back towards her so she could kiss him.

"You'd better."

* * *

"You planned your wedding in four weeks? How is that possible?"

"I'm not really sure. It was all a blur."

"Despite my confidence in that moment, it wasn't as easy as I thought," Jess replied. "I'd never planned a wedding before, and even though I'd been involved with grandma Lorelai's I was completely out of my depth when it came to this."

"And I'd been beside great grandma Emily the whole time she planned that hoopla, but once we made the decision to start over, I realized just how much work really went into planning a wedding."

"Plus, we had to have that conversation."

* * *

"You're what?" Emily demanded, slamming her coffee cup down onto the table, her eyes flashing with anger. It was Monday; Rory and Jess had decided the night before to scale down the wedding and start over. But Rory's grandmother wasn't taking it as well as they'd been hoping.

"Well, grandma, it's just that… we feel like this wedding isn't us. We wanted something simple and-"

"But the invitations have already been sent out, the rsvp's received. Everything is done. How can you-"

"We spent all night talking about this, about what we want." Jess interrupted. "And we've already started making calls to return some things. You don't need to worry; I'll make sure you get back all the money you spent." He added.

"But Rory, what about all the things we had planned?" she asked, ignoring him."You had such a beautiful vision for this-"

"No. I didn't. That vision was all yours, I was just along for the ride. But it's still going to be beautiful grandma, trust me."

"Trust you? I can't even look at you right now. You are far too similar to your mother."

"Grandma-"

"No, I'm sorry Rory, but I'm going to have to ask the two of you to leave," Emily announced, standing up. "You can see yourselves out, I assume," she added before leaving the room and they slowly made their way to the front door.

"Well, that went about as well as could be expected."

"Jess, don't. She was really upset."

"I know. But everything will be ok. You'll see. Now, let's go home, we'll get your mom, Lane and Paris all over to the apartment, I'll get Happy in on a conference call, and we can brainstorm ideas on how the hell we're supposed to do this, alright?"

"Ok." Jess' take charge attitude was starting to help Rory relax. '_It's all going to work out,_' she told herself as they drove home.

* * *

The Plaza was gone; notes were being written as fast as Finn and Tristan could go, and posted out to all the guests with the new venue information. The dress was back in the boutique, and while Jess listened to Luke and Sookie argue over menu's Rory was back in the bridal stores with her mom and best girlfriends, trying to find _her _dress. Happy called the florist to cut the order down by about half, Rory had loved the flowers that were chosen; she just thought there were way too many. And Jess got stuck into preparing the venue for the big day.

In the weeks leading up to the wedding, they were too busy to attend Friday night dinners. Lorelai still went, but even if there hadn't been a cold war going on, Rory was pretty sure that she and Jess wouldn't have had the time.

And then they were a week away, preparing for a nice, relaxing night in front of the TV.

Everything was taken care of, all that was left was convincing Emily to come (but Richard promised he would take care of that) and to actually get through the wedding, oh and to write the vows of course.

As Rory settled onto the couch, beside Jess, holding a bowl of popcorn, the front door burst open and eight bodies jumped through the space provided, waving their arms and making a big racket.

Rory screamed and threw the popcorn into the air hiding her face in Jess' chest as soon as she saw the masks covering the intruder's faces.

One by one, they removed their masks. "Agh!" Finn shrieked, imitating Rory. "Very nice, Love. Could you do it again?"

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, walking over and shoving him.

"You're getting married next week." Tristan explained.

"Really? Thanks for the heads up," Jess replied, smirking, as he picked up the popcorn.

"So, we've come to take you to your bachelor party." Zach continued.

"Yeah, come on. Jimmy, Luke, TJ, Jackson and Mr. Gilmore are waiting for us. Let's go." Chris added.

"Sorry guys, I'm not leaving Rory alone."

"I'll be fine, Joy can keep me company," she replied, indicating the girl standing at the centre of the group of men.

"What if a bunch of crazies in masks try to break in and scare you?"

"They won't be here," Tristan objected.

"Yeah, the rest of the girls are downstairs, but I didn't want to miss this fun."

"See? The girls can protect me." Rory told Jess, handing him his jacket. He still had the leather one he'd been wearing the first time they met, and it still looked really good on him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, go. Have fun." the boys all made noises to that effect and eventually Jess caved.

"Fine, but I don't want to see any strippers. You got that?"

"What if we blindfold you?" Finn asked. Rory didn't hear Jess' response, because Joy closed the door before sitting on the couch.

"Go get ready, we leave in five." Racing off to her room, Rory tried to imagine what they could possibly be getting up to. If her mom and Lane's bachelorette parties were anything to go by, even her grandmother's, then she knew this was going to be a fun night.

Hurrying into her bedroom, Rory changed quickly before returning to the living room to find Joy had been joined by all of her friends. "So, you ready for this, almost-married girl?" the blonde asked, placing a tiara on her head.

"Oh, I don't know. What are you planning on doing with me?"

"Well, since Lane's party was such a dismal failure-"

"Hey! We had fun." Lane objected, before Lorelai continued.

"I've been thinking about this night for weeks. And so, I have constructed a foolproof plan, Paris?"

The girl who had been called upon stood up and began reading from a clip board. "In an effort to combine all the best aspects of the previous pre-marital parties we have come up with a schedule. First off, we will head to Lorelai's house to watch Richard Gere in _American Gigolo_, on the screen rented from the BWR theatre. Afterwards it's on to drinks in Hartford at The Queen Victoria, before returning to the mother of the bride's house for…"

"Beer, pretzels and beer, alternative alcoholic beverages for those who don't like beer." Lane recited, "And beer."

"So," Lorelai took her daughters hand, leading her towards the door. "What do you say? Does it sound like a good enough send off for our little Miss Ivy league?"

"You know what, I think it does. Let's get started." A chorus of cheers went up around the group as they all moved through the hallways to the staircase and out into the night.

* * *

"This is it, huh?" Jess asked, sitting back on the stool at the bar in Casey's.

"Well, Finn wanted to fly everyone to Cabo for the weekend," Chris replied. "But we convince him this was more your style. Plus, he's decided he'll have more fun by himself after the wedding, anyway."

"Bad call?" Tristan asked, setting down a bowl of peanuts as he took a seat on Jess' other side.

"No, nah. This is great. Just what I would have wanted, had I been thinking about this."

"Good to hear nephew," Luke clapped him on the shoulder and Jess turned to see him and Jimmy standing behind him.

"It's time for phase two, kid." Jimmy added.

"There's a phase two?"

"There certainly is. Some of us," Finn began as they all moved towards the exit, while Gil fixed up the bill. "Some of us, thought that this wasn't really the place to bring your future grandfather-in-law, so now it's off to the country club for scotch and cigars."

"What about-" TJ fell to the ground just at that moment. He'd started the party before everyone else and had been going at it a little harder than the rest of them.

"We called him a cab, I'll wait here with him, catch up with you guys in a little bit." Tristan replied, as Brian and Gil tried to wake TJ.

"Thanks. I really appreciate that."

"No problem, now go. Don't keep Richard waiting." The group said their goodbyes as TJ sat up on the sidewalk, and began singing "_the lumber jack song_" at the top of his lungs.

* * *

Rory stumbled through the apartment door, shushing Joy as they tried to make it to the couch quietly. "Stop making so much noise!" Rory whisper-shouted.

"You stop making so much noise!" the blonde replied, even louder as she shoved her.

"Did you have a good time?" Jess asked from the couch, turning a lamp on.

"I told you, you were too loud! Look what you did."

"Neither of you did anything, I was just sitting here, waiting for you. So, how was your night?"

"Oh Jessie! Guess what we saw?" Joy gushed, sitting down and hugging him. "Richard Gere was at Lorelai's house and he was naked! It was so much fun!"

"Was he really? Well, I wonder how Luke's gonna feel about that."

"Oh, he'll be fine," Rory replied. "I'm sure they disgust it. Disgust… Discussed…" she trailed off, trying to figure out the right word, but then gave up as Jess sat, smiling at her. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah, it wasn't quite as full on as your night, by the sounds of things, but it was good." Rory nodded as she listened to Jess, and then looked past him to where Joy had fallen asleep against his shoulder.

"She's totally wasted."

"I don't think she's the only one," he replied and Rory frowned.

"Mean!"

"Come on, let's get you to bed, and I'll apologize in the morning."

"Good," she stood up shakily as Jess settled his friend on the couch and followed Rory to the bedroom.

* * *

"Wow, mom. I had no idea you were such a party girl." Lo commented, grinning at her.

"Yeah, you sound like a very interesting drunk." Em added.

"Do not follow my example," Rory warned. "I may not remember a whole lot from that night. But the morning after pain is still very clear in my mind. Trust me; you do not want to go through that torture."

"Do as I say, not as I do, right honey?"

"That's right. So, how about we skip the hangovers and go for a bit of a walk?" Rory suggested.

"No fun!"

"Where are we going?" Em asked, moving to get her shoes.

"We just want to take you to where it all happened," Jess explained. He and Rory had discussed it all and they both agreed it would be nice to take a sort of 'field trip' for this segment.

"Where what happened?"

"The bulk of our story," Rory replied as she walked outside into the sunshine. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

Next up will be the wedding. Finally. Oh I loved this chapter, and the next, although I stressed myself out trying to find dresses. I can't imagine how bad I'll be when it's actually my turn. Oh boy, scary place, ok, so please review, pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top, I'd love to know what you thought. Oh and I'm going to attempt to put a link to the dress in my profile. Wish me luck.


	26. Wedding Bells & Lunatics

AN: Thank you for your reviews, they are very much apreciated. I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. Not the wedding, exactly, coz I kind of had that whole thing planned out in my head for a while no (although, origanally Rory was going to freak out and leave, but I didn't think Jess would ever trst her again if she left him right before their wedding, so I scrapped that and did it this way instead,) There's stuff afterards that I didn't like so much, but I think I can make it work. Anyway, I'll stop ranting, thank you jory-brucas101 for the idea of where to have the wedding. I probably would have thought of it myself, but you did help. Please enjoy. Oh yeah, I got the title from a movie of the same name, made in 1918, never heard of it before today, but considering where they live, it sounded appropriate. I still don't own anything.

* * *

Joy let herself into Jess apartment and went straight to the back room where he sat with a notepad and pen, his brow furrowed as he scribbled something down before scrunching it up with a growl and throwing it to the ground where there was a growing pile of papers. "Ohh, someone's been busy. What are we doing?" she asked, hopping up onto the edge of his desk.

"I m trying to write my vows," Jess replied. "But I suck at it, help!"

"Ok, cool. Let me see what you've got so far." Joy requested and Jess pointed to the floor. "Riiight, yeah, I see your problem. Alright, let's do this." Dropping to the floor, Joy crouched down and started flattening the papers on the floor. Halfway through reading, Jess' attempts, she looked up with tears in her eyes. "Tristan's never going to marry me!" she confessed, miserably.

"What are you talking about?" Jess asked. "He loves you, of course-"

"No, I know that. But, whether he loves me or not, doesn't matter. He's never going to be able to marry me."

"I don't understand." Jess replied, confused, he really didn t see the problem. "Why can't he?"

"His parents," she grumbled, and Jess nodded, fully understanding. "His mother hates me. And his dad won t even look at me. Those evil rich people hate me."

"That's not really important though, is it?"

"Of course it is!"

"Tris is a grown man. What say could his parents have when it comes to who he marries?"

"Don't you know anything? I'm trash."

"Ok, now I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to stop you right there."

"No, I'm serious. To the DuGrey s, I'm trash. I'm from Brooklyn for god's sake and they're Hartford elite. They came over on the freakin' Mayflower, and I well, you know, I'm nothing."

"Look, I don't exactly fit in with the Gilmore's now do I? But Rory still loves me and wants to marry me. Not even Emily was able to stand in the way of that. So I assure you, Tristan will marry you. There will come a day when he asks and the two of you will be happy together." Jess replied, trying to reassure her.

"Are you sure?"

"God, you're so needy right now, what's with that?"

"I dunno," she raised an eye brow indicating for him to continue.

"Ok, fine. Yes I am sure. One hundred per cent certain, that there will be a day when Tristan DuGrey will ask you to marry him. Now can we please focus on me? I'm the one who's wedding is three days away, and I still need to decide what I'm gonna say to Rory."

"I'm sorry, but what makes you think that I can help with that?" Joy asked, wiping away mascara. "You're the writer in the family, Jessie."

"Fine, fine, don't help. I guess I can do it myself, now get out of here and let me work."

"Is that anyway to talk to your bestest friend in the whole world?"

"It is when my bestest friend in the whole world is bugging me and I need to focus."

"Geez, I get it. I'll see you later, work good."

As he sat alone again, Jess bit his lip and spun the pen around between his fingers. It wasn t supposed to be this hard. '_I've been in love with this girl since I was sixteen,' _he thought. '_How can I have nothing to say to her?'_ Throwing his pen across the room with another growl, Jess picked up a photo of Rory he kept on the desk to calm himself at times like these, and he took a deep breath.

"You can do this," he coached himself. "Just breathe." After a few moments he picked up a second pen and began to write again.

* * *

Rory checked her bag again, sifting through to make sure she had everything she needed.

"Come on! Rory, we've gotta go." Lorelai groaned, stomping her foot as she stood by the door.

"I just need-"

"If you're missing anything, Luke or I can come back and get it. But at this rate, you will still be standing there, on the morning of your wedding, which completely negates the point of you packing all these bags."

"Personally, I don't mind if you spend the night here," Jess interjected.

"You don't understand tradition, clearly." Lorelai told him as Rory re-zipped her bag.

"Ok, I think that's it. Let's go before I think of something else."

"Aha! Finally, let's go, let's go, let's go!" she chanted, grabbing two of Rory s bags.

"Do you have to?" Jess asked, wrapping his arms around Rory's waist, keeping her close to him.

"I don t want to, but..."

"This is a stupid tradition." He added, addressing Lorelai. "And I seem to remember someone sneaking into the diner apartment the night before you were due to marry Luke,"

"Really? Why didn't you tell me? I never would have gone through with it if I'd known about that!" Lorelai grinned; she just hadn t been able to stay away.

"Fine. Take her away from me. But make sure-"

"Hey, Rory's going to be there tomorrow. She's not the one who runs off to different states whenever the urge hits her." Lorelai replied.

"And on that note; I love you, and I will see you tomorrow, twelve sharp."

"See you at twelve." Jess nodded and with one last look, Rory walked out into the hall with her mom.

* * *

"Ok, so how bout we just finish up there?" Jess asked, grinning at the girls, sitting across from him on the bridge.

"Mom, do I have your permission to kick. Dad's. Ass?!" Lo asked, gritting her teeth and glaring at her father.

"Maybe a little later. For now, I'll tell you about my wedding day." Rory replied.

"Your wedding day?" Jess questioned, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket and opening it. "I'm pretty sure that's me, there in that picture. Look familiar to you?"

"Oh yeah, there you are. Right, so _we'll_ tell them about _our_ wedding. Sound good?"

"Fine, get on with it."

* * *

Rory rolled over in her old bed, enjoying the last few moments of sleep, before she remembered the enormity of the day. Bolting upright with a huge grin on her face, she opened her eyes and saw her mom sitting across the room, drinking coffee. "Hey,"

"Morning sweets. You want some coffee?" she asked, picking up a second mug and moving across to where Rory sat. "I could lace it with some whiskey, make it as good as one of Finn's creations,"

"What time is it?" Rory asked, shaking her head and taking the black coffee, just as it was.

"Eight-thirty. Lane and Paris are in the living room, and Luke s finishing up with breakfast, before he heads over to your apartment to make sure Jess doesn t bolt."

"Mom, Jess isn t going to bolt."

"How do you know? It's what he does."

"What he did. But he wants this as much as I do. He will be there today, I can feel it," Rory replied confidently. There was no chance that this wedding wasn t going to happen.

"Ok, if you're sure. I m going to call dad, see if he's managed to talk mom around yet."

"She still hasn't made her decision?"

"Well, she hadn t last week when I was there, and when I spoke to dad yesterday he still didn t have an answer for me, but I'm hoping he'll have information for us now."

"I really want her there. I didn't mean to hurt her feelings, but what she was planning-"

"I know honey. I completely understand. And I'm sure that if she does come, she'll be happy with the way things turned out. You and Jess did a beautiful job."

"Thanks,"

"Knock, knock."

"Come in Luke," Rory called out and her step-father opened the door, smiling at her.

"Breakfast is ready, so I'm going to go before the make-up and hair products start coming out. I ll see you two at twelve." He explained, staying on the threshold. They were pretty close, as step-parent, and child relationships went, but still, this was Rory s room and Luke was very respectful of boundaries.

"Thank you," Rory told him, handing her coffee to her mom and standing up. "I don't think I could ever thank you enough."

"For what?" asked the older man confused.

"Well, aside from making mom happy, you're the reason I have Jess in my life. I will be eternally grateful for that."

"You thank his crazy mom later when you see her. Her constant screw-ups are the real reason."

"I'll do that too, but you're still a big part of it. So, thank you. And please remind him that I love him," she added, hugging him. Luke slowly brought his arms up to hug her back, before Lorelai came to stand beside the two of them.

"I will,"

"Oh, look out Luke, I think I can hear a couple of hot rollers chasing a tube of mascara down the stairs, you'd better run," Lorelai warned, moving to kiss her husband.

"That would be my cue to leave. I'll see you both there," Luke replied, giving them a final smile, before backing away from the room and walking through to the front door. They heard him speak to the girls, before the door closed behind him.

"Ok, so I'm not sure what you had planned today, but I was thinking we could grab a little breakfast and then stop off at this wedding everyone's been talking about. Sound good?" Lorelai asked, hooking an arm through Rory's.

"Uh, yeah, I guess that'd be ok." replied the younger girl as they walked out to where her friends were waiting.

* * *

Three hours later, Joy knocked before slipping into Jess' bedroom. His father, step-father, uncle and a couple of friends were all in the living room getting ready while he hid in the bedroom. "Hey, how are you doing?" she asked, coming over to remove a piece of lint from his shoulder.

"Ah, yeah. I'm getting there." He replied, slightly nervous.

"Well, you scrub up good. I'm not sure if I've ever told you that."

"Thanks Happy." He smiled at her, genuinely happy about this. He was getting married!

"You ve got this glow, such a happy glow." She told him, "Oh! Do you think you might be pregnant?"

"Well, you never know I guess. How do my ankles look to you? Swollen?" he lifted the cuff of his pants just a little and she looked down, studying him.

"Hmm, yeah. Now that you mention it."

"Oh, well, it's a good thing we're doing this today. Hopefully no one will do the math and shame the kid," Jess laughed as he looked back at Joy. She bit her lip and her hand absently drifted towards her stomach. "Do you have something you need to tell me?" he asked quietly.

"Nope. Nothing to report Sarge." She replied, a big grin in place.

"Happy, seriously, are you-"

"You're getting married today, Jess! Today is about you and Rory. Don t think about anyone but yourselves. You ve totally earned the right to be selfish."

"Fine. Today, I'll think about me, but tomorrow-"

"Tomorrow is another day. We'll think of tomorrow when today is done. Come on, we've got to go. You have guests to greet, and distract from the fact that Rory's running late."

"Why is Rory running late?" Jess asked, now worrying about her not showing up.

"It's tradition. She won't be too late, just, you know, fashionably late. We're just lucky there are trees around and it's not the middle of summer; could you imagine if you were doing this out in the open and all of those people had to stand in the blistering sun for three quarters of an hour? Chaos!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, genuinely confused as they walked out into the living room, where the rest of the men stood up to greet them.

"Oh, never mind. Are you guys ready?" everyone nodded, and she moved to pick up her purse. "Ok, well, let's get this show on the road." The honorary best man announced, leading the way to the door.

Jess hung back for a moment, trying to push everything out of his mind, except for what he needed to say to Rory. That was a very difficult task, given the conversation he'd just had with Joy, but he was determined to do it. He would find her later and get to the bottom of this, but for now, everything else had to go. Once he'd succeeded in clearing his mind, he followed the others outside.

* * *

Years ago when Sookie and Jackson got married, Emily had somehow become involved in the planning of their wedding. Lorelai eventually intervened and confronted her mother about how she was not planning a wedding for Sookie, but for her. Emily had denied that, saying the things picked for this wedding seemed like Sookie, and that Lorelai's would have been a Russian winter theme. When it came time for Rory's wedding, there had been many similarities between what had been described in the past, and what was happening this time around.

But when Rory finally realized what she wanted, she had removed many aspects of the Emily wedding, the venue, for one. The new plans were a lot more low-key, but she was still certain that everything was going to be beautiful.

As she arrived near the bridge in the silver 1950' s Jaguar MK V, she looked out the window, where Jess stood, waiting at the middle of the bridge, family, friends and townspeople behind him, all waiting for the other half of the bridal party to arrive.

"Ok, this is it, Kid." Lorelai announced, interrupting Rory's thoughts. "You ready for this?"

"Yep. Let's get out there."

"Okey-dokey." The door opened, and the driver reached in to help Lorelai out, before also assisting Rory. As they stood beside the car, there was a lot of hushed talking and Luke moved from the bridge, to come over and greet them.

"Hey, everybody's ready, you all set?"

"Yes. I am ready." Rory replied, just about set to run to where her almost-husband stood.

"Good, good. Ok, well, I"ll let Reverend Skinner know. See you over there." He turned to go back to where everyone was waiting, but stopped. "You look beautiful," he told Rory, before moving away. Rory's bridesmaids gathered around her then and she smiled.

Her dress was a modified mermaid design with pinched bodice and chapel length train in ivory. It was a lot simpler than the dress that had originally been chosen, she thought, more understated. The other girls all wore ivory strapless dresses, with contrasting blue bands across the neckline and midriff. Lorelai's dress was a little longer than the others, but other than that it was the same, it came about halfway down her calf while the others reached the knee. They had their hair pulled back, half up, half down, with their favorite colored rose pinned into place at the back. Their partners in the bridal party had the same flower pinned to their lapel. Rory's hair had been left down, falling in soft curls down her back, and over her shoulders.

As they lined up, Rory studied Joy; she'd looked a little off all morning, but hadn t slowed down for anything. "Joy, are you feeling ok?" she asked as the blonde got into position in front of her. Lane and Paris were going first, followed by the best woman before the bride who was being escorted by her mother.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Here, you take these, and we'll be on our way," she replied, handing Rory her bouquet of snow white roses, tied together with a ribbon, the same blue as on the dresses. The roses were an Emily thing, something she d mentioned for Lorelai's wedding, and had managed to get included in Rory's, pretty much the only thing that had made it through to this wedding.

"Are you sure?"

"Geez, what is with you and Jess? This is your day. I'm fine, let's go!"

"Alright," with a nod from Lorelai, the music began to play and they started their walk.

Rory had a lot going through her mind; she was watching the girls dresses, thinking how nice they looked; she glanced around and saw how much work Jess had put into decorating their place. Being the middle of the day, they hadn t needed any lights set up, and honestly, there wasn't a lot that needed to be done, but he'd made sure the area was clean, and had found a white sheet to drape over the wood, illuminating her path towards him, there were even a few rows of seats set up which were also decorated, while most of the others guests stood behind, and as she made her way up the aisle, letting her gaze drift over the people assembled to witness the union, she smiled.

"She came," she whispered to her mother, just as they reached the middle of the bridge and Lorelai transferred Rory s hand to Jess'.

"I know. I knew she would, she loves you too much to have missed this." Rory just smiled at her mother before kissing her on the cheek and Lorelai retreated to the first row of seats to sit between her parents and Luke.

Reverend Skinner began the ceremony as Jess just stood, holding Rory's hand and looking at her. She was beautiful. There were no other words he could think to describe her. '_Breathtakingly beautiful that's a good one'_ he thought. As she smiled at him, he forced himself to pay attention to what was being said.

"...and now, as the couple have written their own vows, I would like to call upon Jess, to say a few words."

_'Good timing'_ he thought with a slight smirk. "Ah, ok. As many of you know, I m not that good with words. Well, speaking them, anyway. Usually writing them down isn't too much of a problem. But when it came to this, I... I had a lot of trouble, finding the words that would express how I felt about you," he explained to Rory, there was a smattering of laughter from the crowd, but then all was quiet again. "So here goes. Before I met you it sounds cliche'd, but, well, there was a lot of darkness. Then I moved here, and even though, at the time, I thought this place was hell on earth, it turned out to be the best decision ever made for me. I love you Rory, and marrying you, that's just the next step we need to take in order to have the life I know we re meant to have."

As he finished, he could hear a few sniffles from the woman watching, and he smirked inwardly; they were so easy. Get a woman at a wedding and she'll cry at the drop of a hat. He had meant every word, but getting a tear out of all of those ladies just made this even better.

"It took me a long time to realize how much you really meant to me." Rory began, wiping away a tear of her own. She knew that Jess wanted to laugh at all of the girls crying right now, but he was doing very well, keeping it inside. "But I've been trying to tell you for a while now, we needed that time. It helped the both of us grow into the people we are today. It prepared us not only for this wedding, but for the marriage we're about to enter in to. And now that we've grown and we're here, I can't wait for our lives as husband and wife to begin."

Skinner pronounced them husband and wife and Jess quickly swept Rory up into his arms, kissing his wife passionately and not caring who could see. This was it. This was all he'd ever wanted, to be with the woman he loved forever.

With the declaration of the new union, people rushed forward to wish them well, but the newlyweds barely heard a word as they stared lovingly into one another's eyes, each imagining where their lives were going to take them now.

* * *

Rory squeezed Jess hand before she quietly stood up and slipped away from the bridal table. Chris had drawn him and Paris into a heated debate about some author, so no one really noticed when she disappeared. She hadn't had a chance to speak with her grandmother yet, but she had been watching; Emily was just accosted by Miss Patty and Babette, both gushing about the ceremony, no doubt.

"Excuse me ladies, I was hoping I could borrow my grandmother for a moment?" Rory interrupted, and all three turned their eyes to her. For a moment they were silent, but then Babette and Patty started talking over one another, both with tears in their eyes as they relived their favorite aspects of the wedding. Joy, who had fast become a favorite among the townspeople, appeared by her side, distracting the two women and reminding Rory that she needed to speak to her, before she and her grandma were somehow freed.

"You made a beautiful bride, Rory." Emily spoke shortly as they took seats at an empty table in the corner. The previous occupants of those chairs were currently dancing up a storm with Michel.

"Thank you grandma,"

"And the wedding was lovely. I hope it was what you wanted?"

"It was." They were quiet for a moment, before Rory took a deep breath, rubbing her thumb against her wedding ring for strength. I"'m sorry that we hurt your feelings. The wedding that you planned really was beautiful, but-"

"I understand, Rory," she interrupted. "I've had the necessary time to think it over and... Well I know that I was going overboard. I'm just sorry that I didn't realize it in time to help you plan the wedding that you wanted."

"That's ok. I would have liked you to be involved in this, but everything worked out in the end. And I m so happy that you came. I m not sure if I would have been able to do this without you."

"You would have; you love Jess very much, I can see that. I m glad I was able to get over my pigheadedness in time to see you through this day. I m incredibly proud of you, you know."

"Thank you," Rory leaned forward to hug her and when she pulled back, she looked up to see her grandfather, waiting beside them.

"I was hoping to steal you away for a dance," he explained, and Rory stood up, offering him her hand. They moved to the middle of the floor as a slow song began to play, and were soon joined by a few other couples. Jess danced with his mother, Lorelai and Luke joined them, and a couple of others began to move in the space around them as Rory listened to her grandfather tell her how proud he had been of her.

* * *

"As the party continued into the night, I had so many other people give me that same speech. Some more coherently than others, Mom, Luke, my dad, Lane, even Taylor stood up and said something that I still haven't quite worked out. It was either incredibly touching or very, very gross." She mused.

"I got that a lot too. My parents and Luke and Happy all felt this desperate need to tell me what a great man I'd become, which only served to make me very uncomfortable. But I didn't want to deny them; they just wanted to show that they loved me, I guess."

"Where did you go on your honeymoon, again?" Emma asked, playing with her hair. She was trying to make it look like her mom's had in the pictures, but that took hours of work.

"Vermont, a little cabin in the mountains. Very secluded." Jess replied. His inflection was lost on Emma, but the other two clearly understood his meaning. Jess looked up at the sky; the trees almost completely covered the bridge and its surroundings, but you could still catch a glimpse of sunshine every now and then. At least you could a few hours ago. Now there was an inky sky filled with stars.

"We should probably be getting home." Rory announced, and Jess stifled a laugh,

"Good thinking ninety-nine." He muttered, standing and waiting for the three girls to walk ahead of him.

"Was Aunt Joy ok?" Em asked as they made their way back to the house. "Cause at the wedding, she seemed like... something was wrong."

"Oh, yeah, she was fine." Rory replied, smiling at the memory. "She just had a a little virus, lasted about nine months."

"She was pregnant?"

"Holly DuGrey had just made her presence known to at least one person in the world," Rory nodded.

"Happy wouldn t confirm anything for us that night, and we had to leave the next morning. She eventually answered my calls and I asked her point blank if she were pregnant. When she said yes, your mom and I were in the car in a flash, ready to head home. This was huge news. Lane and Zach had just had the twins about a month before, and now there was going to be another baby."

"It was very exciting. For us anyway. When we got home, uncle Tristan wasn't quite as jovial as we'd been expecting."

"But he loves Holly," Emma protested.

"Of course he does, but when he found out about her, his first instinct was to propose. Aunt Joy didn't like that though. She told him no, and so he ended up drinking on our couch while your dad went off to find out what was going on.

* * *

It didn t take Jess long to track down his friend. She was in the apartment she shared with Tristan in Hartford, sitting at the kitchen counter, eating ice-cream from the carton. When he walked in, she looked up, and tried to paste on a smile. "Hey, how was the honeymoon?"

"It was great; until we came home to find some guy drinking all our beer on our couch."

"Oh, did TJ and your mom have another fight?"

"No. It wasn't TJ, it was Tristan. You know, the guy you're madly in love with; the guy who's baby you're carrying; and the guy who ten short days ago, you were worried would never be able to marry you, but when he asks, you say no. What's wrong with this picture?"

"I said no, because that's not what he really wants."

"Really? And who told you that?"

"Please, the only reason he did that, was because I said the magic words, and he's got this idea in his head, that when there's a baby involved, there has to be a hasty shotgun wedding, so that no one suspects any foul play."

"Ok, you are seriously deluding yourself if you think people don t know what the two of you are doing when the lights go out. You should know by now that your mom, our friends, and that twisted family we' ve gathered around us, those are the people who really matter. And none of those people care about babies being conceived or born out of wedlock. I mean, you and I and Rory, none of us were really born into perfect families, but we all turned out ok. I'm not saying that you shouldn't marry Tristan, but you shouldn't turn him down just because you're pregnant, either. He did not ask you out of some misplaced sense of responsibility. I know that he loves you, and he would stand by you through anything, but he's really hurting right now, and you did that." Joy burst into tears as soon as Jess finished talking. "Damn! I didn t mean-"

"No, it's ok. Its... I'm fine. You- I get what you're saying," she sniffed. "I love him, I do, and I understand all of that, but still... I want a wedding that's been planned, and I want the time to make sure everything's perfect. And also, as narcissistic as it sounds, I don't want to be huge when I walk down the aisle, with the possibility of the kid making a cameo appearance at the reception."

"So, you plan for after the baby's been born."

"I want to wait. Before I say yes, I want to wait and get my life on track first. Does that... Do I sound crazy?"

"No, of course not. But there's someone else who, I think needs to hear all of this more than me. So come on, go clean yourself up, and you can tell Tristan all of that, and I can have my couch back."

"What, you think he wouldn't like to hear that whole speech from a red, blotchy, mess, with buttered-pecan dribbling down her chin?" she asked with a shaky smile.

"Well, you know, maybe he would. But I wouldn't want to be caught dead driving with one of those in my car, so go; wash your face. I'll wait here." Poking her tongue out at him, Joy headed to the bathroom to get cleaned up, before they drove back to Stars Hollow and she explained everything to Tristan. They made up, and headed home soon after, leaving the newlyweds alone in their home for the very first time.

* * *

"He kept asking, but around the six month mark, she told him that he had to stop, because she didn't want him to catch her in a weak, hormonal moment, and the only reason she was saying yes, was because she thought no man would ever look at her again, because she was so fat and undesirable." Rory explained. "So he gave in, shut up, and was surprised, when she asked him, just before Holly turned five months old."

"And Happy being Happy, she wasn't satisfied to just go on and plan her big wedding after that. As it turned out, that wasn t what they needed. The four of us, plus her mom, your grandma, grandpa and Finn ended up heading to city hall. They just kept it simple, and then everything went back to normal, as if nothing had changed."

"Something had changed though, for us too. Your dad's little business was going really strong."

* * *

Just after the latest wedding, it became apparent, that Truncheon Books was doing pretty well. They'd gone from a small publishing business run out of the house that the three owners lived in, to a small office space, and now they were out of room, because they had so many authors wanting to be published, the zine was more popular than ever and there were quite a few artists who had paintings to hang.

So Jess had to return to Philadelphia to help scout for a new office. After much bickering, the three owners finally settled on a place that had a room for each of them, (even though he spent very little time there, and it would most likely go unused, or be given to their most promising writer,) and a few smaller rooms in which people could create, if that's how they felt they wanted to do it. Glad to have that out of the way, Jess came home once more to an even bigger surprise than the one he d received recently about his livelihood.

* * *

Ok, so that whole, waiting 45 minutes in the sun on the wedding day, that actually happened to me. Well, not me, because I'm not married, and I wasn't out there then, coz I was still at the hotel with her and the rest of the bridesmaids, but my best friend got marred in March and it was a really sunny day, we were late, and everybody was complaining about the heat by the time we finally got there. And hopefully that has helped to make Joy a little more realistic. I figured, she spent all that time fixing the problems in Jess and Rory's relationship, so I wanted to show her insecurties a little and have Jess fix her. Did I suceed? Please review, reviews are love.


	27. Surprise

Thank you to Malikad, Jeremy Shane, Curley-Q and Sarah Jae for your reviews. I kind of thought that the wedding may have gotten a few more reviews, but, oh well. Thanks to you four anyway. This will be the last chapter before the epilogue, which I will put up tomorrow. Enjoy.

* * *

Rory hadn't been feeling well when the call came for Jess to head back to Philly, and that was enough for him to want to stay. As much as he would have liked to see his friends, he didn't relish the idea of traipsing around the city in search of a new place for their business.

But Rory insisted he go, saying that her mom could take care of her, and if there was seriously something wrong (not that there would be) that he would just be a phone call away.

Reluctantly, Jess followed orders and went to his friends aid to find somewhere for Truncheon Books to call home.

When he returned home a week later, and Rory still wasn't a hundred per cent, she finally relented to everyone's demands and made an appointment with her doctor.

The whole drive home, Rory didn't hear a word from the radio, even though she had it tuned to her favorite station, playing loud. She was running on autopilot all the way as the doctor's words played on a continuous loop in her mind.

She was in a total daze, and felt completely numb with no idea how she was supposed to respond to the news she'd just been given. "Tell Jess…" she instructed herself, driving towards town. "Just tell him, he'll know how to handle this." She kept repeating to herself.

When she finally reached home, and mustered up the courage to let herself in she found him taking a break from work, and re-reading _The Old Man And The Sea _for what was possibly the seventy-fifth billionth time.

"Hey, so, how'd you go?" he asked, not looking up from the book. He was clearly at a good part; maybe the old man had caught a fish. "Are you dying from some bizarre tropical disease?"

"When was the last time we went anywhere tropical?" Rory asked, seriously. She didn't have it in her to joke right now.

"Well, I don't think we've ever been anywhere that could be considered a tropical environment. But Finn did just get back from north Queensland. Maybe he brought something with him."

Rory shook her head, and rubbed the back of her neck. This was too confusing. She just needed to say what she had to say, and then Jess could get on with the soothing comments. "I'm not dying of anything. I'm… growing something."

"What?" Jess stared at her, confused. '_What does that mean, growing something?'_

"I'm pregnant." She replied slowly, watching Jess for a reaction. The words didn't seem any more real than they had half an hour ago when she first heard them, but the look on Jess' face, as soon as she spoke them, made it seem a little more believable. He wouldn't look at her that way, without a reason.

"Are you…? I can't believe this. Are you sure?"

"Yep. I made the doctor double check. She swore it was my name on the file and the results were correct."

"That's… Wow. This is just wow!"

"Good wow or bad wow?" Rory asked, uncertainly. Jess was sort of smiling, but that could have been residual shock. There was a chance that her words hadn't fully penetrated yet.

"Good wow. Absolutely a great wow! I can't believe this!" he repeated, wrapping his arms around Rory and squeezing her tight. He seemed to channel Jackson in that moment though, and let go not wanting to 'squish baby'.

"This is amazing! I just… thought I was better with words, but I guess I was wrong."

"So, we're good? This is ok?" Rory asked still not ready to do cartwheels.

"Of course we're good. This is incredible!" Jess replied, more and more certain by the moment. This was really great news.

* * *

"I guess there was a part of me that thought he might freak out and run away. I mean, how could I not think that? His dad did, mine wasn't exactly Mr. Mom, until Sherry left Gigi with him, and he had left me before. But he didn't. And his excitement about you," she added, nudging Charlotte, "was the reason that I got so happy. Except then he had to leave, and go back to Philly again."

Jess saw it coming, before she even opened her mouth, he could tell Lo was about to start in on him for leaving, after he swore that he hadn't ever left her or her sister.

"You said you never-"

"It was a work thing!" He spoke at the same time, his voice louder, and drowning hers out. "I had to go, but I called everyday, and came back as soon as I could. I abandoned the guys three days early while they were packing up, just because I didn't want to miss anything pregnancy related." He explained. "And I only had to go away one other time, but I was here for everything else." Lo was quiet for a moment, thinking over the things he'd said, and then she smiled.

"I'm just kidding daddy. I knew you weren't going anywhere." She told him, before looking at the clock. "Is anyone else hungry?" three hands went up into the air and they all stood up, ready to leave the house again. "I don't think we've ever gone that long without a meal before." She mused as they walked out the door.

* * *

They knew that pregnancy came with heightened emotions, rapid mood swings, and bizarre cravings – more often than not, in the middle of the night – Sookie, Lane and Joy had taught them that.

But they hadn't been anticipating just how quickly Rory could go from happy to extremely peeved.

Truncheon Books was all moved into the new space, but since Jess hadn't wanted to be gone for long, his main objective had been to get everything into his car and sort it out back in Connecticut.

Three days after his return, even more boxes arrived, and the once cozy apartment, became Tom-thumb tiny. As Rory attempted to get to the kitchen, later that night, she stubbed her toe on one of the many boxes that had come home with Jess from Philadelphia.

"Damn it!" she shrieked, hopping back to sit at the table.

"What happened?" Jess asked, concerned as he looked up from one of the notebooks he'd fished out, just as Rory's eyes welled up with tears.

"That stupid box! It hates me," Rory wailed. "I wanted ice-cream, but I can't get through."

"I'll get it for you, you just sit."

"This is your fault!" she announced as Jess easily navigated passed the 'stupid' box.

"I know." He replied, placing a bowl in front of her. She was only three months pregnant, but he'd heard this rant quite a few times since they'd received the news, and he wasn't expecting it to stop anytime soon. "I got you pregnant, so you think you're getting fat, and I-"

"No! Well, yes, there is that. But also, you brought all these evil boxes here. And because I'm getting bigger everyday, I can't move around the apartment at all."

"You aren't getting bigger everyday," Jess argued. '_Note to self,'_ he thought. '_Don't have any more kids.'_

"What would you know?" Rory demanded. "I'm sorry!" she cried, now fanning herself with a pleated flyer for the Stars Hollow End of Summer Madness Festival. "I'm just so hot and uncomfortable, your boxes aren't stupid or evil, and this-" she pointed to her stomach, "is not your fault. Please, don't listen to another word I say until the baby comes out."

"Sounds good to me,"

"Jess! You can't be so mean to me." Rory yelped, looking at her husband, tears in her eyes again.

"I'm only kidding,"

"I told you I can't process sarcasm in this state, so don't do that."

"Ok, I'm sorry. I'll listen to anything and everything you say, just let me know which bits to disregard."

"Ok, good. Thank you." Rory continued to eat her ice-cream and fan herself for a few moments, before getting frustrated again. "How can it be so hot? There's no sun!"

"I've got an idea," Jess took the bowl out of Rory's hands and put it on the bench as she protested, and tried to grab it back. "Come on, I'll get you more later. For now, I think I may have a way to get you cool." He took her hand and began leading the way, between the boxes, past the couch and out into the night. As they walked through town, Rory continuously asked where they were going, but Jess wouldn't say. Finally, when they reached the bridge, he sat down and started to remove his shoes.

"What are we doing here?" Rory asked, confused. "Are you going to tell me about how you're a bad seed, again? Or will you reenact our wedding, for my enjoyment?"

"I was actually thinking you'd like to go for a swim." Jess replied seriously. He would probably never live down the things he'd said to this woman. She would always have something to taunt him with, for the rest of their lives.

"Oh! Wow, that is a really good idea. But can we do the reenactment tomorrow?" Rory asked, slipping off her shoes, before dipping her feet into the water. "Oh, that feels so much better."

"Imagine how much cooler you would be, if you were in up to your neck." Jess suggested, slipping his shirt over his head before he stood up and dove into the water. Rory squealed when the water hit her, but then as Jess splashed her, she realized how refreshing it felt and hopped in after him.

"You are a genius! I take back all the mean things I said to you tonight, I love you, and you're a genius."

"I love you," he told her, as the treaded water together, before each laying back, to float and look at the stars.

* * *

The heat continued for a fortnight, and each night, they would return for a late night swim. But once the temperatures returned to normal, the air-conditioner in the apartment was enough to keep the temperamental pregnant woman calm.

As she wasn't too far along, Rory was still working, and having her out of the house each day, gave Jess the time he needed to sort through all of his things. Within a week of the heat breaking, there were no boxes to trip over, and only a small stack of papers sat on the coffee table, yet to be sorted. Everything else had been cataloged and put away in Jess' study.

When Rory returned home from work, she walked in and froze just a few feet inside the door. "Where did this apartment come from?"

"It's the strangest thing, I was moving some of my stuff, and I found all this space, did you know it was here?" Jess asked, meeting her at the door with a cup of tea and a kiss.

When she found out she was pregnant, he had begged and pleaded with her to stop drinking coffee and switch to herbal tea. She countered by asking for one cup of de-caf in the morning; if she couldn't have the real thing, at least she could still pretend, even if it didn't have quite the same effect. Jess eventually gave in, knowing that her crazy coffee addiction was a big part of what he loved about her.

"You know, I was starting to think I'd dreamt that. But, yeah, this does look kind of familiar."

"I figured you probably deserved to have your home back," Jess replied as they sat on the couch. "Everything's been put away in the desk and filing cabinet."

"Really? No more boxes anywhere?" she asked, putting her cup down.

"None."

"Oh that is the best thing I've heard all day." Rory clapped her hands with glee.

"Glad I could tell it to you."

"Thank you husband!" Wrapping her arms around Jess' neck, Rory kissed him before jumping up and walking down the hall to the room where Jess kept all of his work-related stuff. "Wow, you really have been busy." She commented, opening the door to find the room spotless. Usually Jess worked with a bit of mess, but he'd put everything away, it was beautiful.

"Well, I was trying to make some space. But, then I realized, there really isn't that much, with everything we own in here."

"You were trying to make space..?"

"I thought about keeping the baby in a drawer, but then, I figured that was probably frowned upon. So I thought if I could make some room in here, I don't mind sharing."

"That is so sweet. But I don't think we can put the baby in here."

"No, I know. Not unless she sleeps on the window sill, which, if I'm not mistaken, is also kind of a bad place for a newborn."

"Oh God! We have to move, don't we?" Rory groaned, imagining her life filled with boxes again. It was a never ending cycle!

"I think that's a very real possibility."

"That is…"

"Sucks."

"That is totally sucks!" Rory agreed.

"Well, on the bright side; since my brain and fingertips seem to have run dry, at least for the moment, you can go to work and leave me to do most of the packing and shifting. And I promise to move faster than I did when it was just my stuff."

"I can't do that, can I?"

"If your idiot of a husband volunteers to do the manual labor, just agree quickly, before he can change his mind." Jess instructed.

"Ok. You have yourself a deal, mister." Rory replied. "Of course, I will be giving birth sometime in the future, and from what I've heard, that's a lot harder than moving house."

"Yeah, right, have you seen our book collection lately?" Jess asked as they turned, heading back to the living room.

"True… How about we say we'll be working equally as hard?"

"Sounds good to me."

They sat back on the couch, and Rory looked around at the nice, neat apartment. "I'm gonna miss it here." She observed.

"Me too."

* * *

Things didn't exactly go to plan after that. Finding a house was just as difficult as it had been to find the apartment. Rory was eight and a half months before they had any prospects, and at that stage, they were still undecided on a name.

"What's wrong with Earnesta?" Jess asked again, as he helped Rory out of the car, out the front of the real estate agent's office. She'd called the day before, saying she might just have something for them.

"For the fiftieth time, aside from the fact that it sounds ridiculous and like the name of an eighty-six-year old woman, I refuse to name my daughter after that man you worship so much." Rory replied bitingly.

"Fine, then I veto Ayn."

"Ayn was never even on the table. Because I knew you would do that right away, and besides, there were way better name out there, anyway."

"Like what? And if you say Lorelai one more time-"

"I was not going to suggest that. I know how you feel about that little tradition that we Gilmore's have." Jess rolled his eyes, while he opened the door and ushered Rory inside. "But what about, Elizabeth, Anne, Sophia,"

"Ashley?"

"You would find some way to turn that into Brett, and like I already told you, Hemingway will have nothing to do with our children."

"Children? Ror, there is only one in there right?"

"Of course there's only one in here! What are you talking about?"

"You said children."

"I just meant… in the future, if we don't screw this one up too much, maybe one day we'd like another one?"

"Right. Let's see how little no name here goes first."

"Alexandria, Charlotte-"

"I've always liked Mary-Ann," announced their realtor as she entered her cubicle to greet the couple.

"Well, it's good you like your name," Jess replied. She'd been doing that ever since she found out about the baby. Offering up the names of every woman she knew, she'd finally gotten to her own, which Jess hoped meant she didn't know anyone else. And sure it was a nice enough name, but it wasn't among his favorites and he wasn't about to name his first-born after a real estate agent he didn't really like.

"You said you had something to show us?" Rory asked, as the woman took a seat across the desk.

"Yes, of course. Now, this place is very new; just came on the market last night, in fact." She explained, opening a folder to show a picture of a puke-green building that looked as if it had been the ball in a game of football, played by trolls, before haphazardly being dumped in a thicket.

"No!" Rory and Jess intoned together, Maryanne looking slightly offended, closed the book.

"Alright, I have one more I can show you. I've held it back until now, because, it's a little more than you wanted to spend, but we've been at this so long, and I think, maybe you'll like it. And we might even be able to make a deal with the owner's, if it's something you're really interested in." she explained, retrieving another file.

As they looked at the front of the house, Rory gasped, and Jess blinked repeatedly. That was it. That was their house.

It was a two-storey, with what looked like a small attic as well. It was white, with blue shutters on all the windows, and a big porch that ran along the front and down one side. There was even a kids' bike beside the porch steps, giving the impression that the house was child-friendly.

"It's perfect," Rory whispered. She knew exactly where it was too. When she was little, she and her mom would pass by the house everyday on their way from the Independence Inn to Luke's. Lorelai always promised she would get them a house like that one day, and in a way, she had; they're house was blue and white, and they had a porch, but this place was just so much more.

"… find a way to make it work." Rory tuned in just as Jess and Maryanne shook hands and then he was given a package.

"I'll give them a call and see if they'd be interested in meeting with you. I'll be in touch." Concluded the other woman, and Rory and Jess stood up before heading back out to the street.

"What just happened?" Rory asked as they got back into the car.

"I think we just found our house."

"How much more are they asking?"

"Two hundred,"

"Two hundred thousand dollars?! Where are we supposed to find that kind of money? I know we had some saved, but I thought we'd only spend a bit of it, and the rest would go towards things for the baby's future. And since I've only got two weeks left of work, I don't think we could afford to do much of anything on your diner wages."

"No, I know, you're probably right. I haven't got a lot left over from _Subsect_ but there's a little. And I could always ask-"

"I don't want to take money from Luke or mom or any other family member. We need to think of something else."

"Ok, good. I was hoping you'd say that."

"We should stop this actually. I mean, I know I've always loved that house, and the pictures looked great, but I've never even been inside. Maybe the financial stressing should be put on hold until they agree to let us take a look at the place." Rory rationalized.

"That's a really good idea." Jess replied. He didn't want Rory to do any sort of stressing; it wasn't good for her or the baby. But he had a thought about how to get the money; he just needed to have a conversation first.

* * *

"Where did you get this?" Rory asked, looking at the check, Jess had just handed her. They'd met with the Potter's, taken a walk through the house and had fallen completely in love with the place.

"I have my sources," he replied, taking it back and folding it into his pocket.

"What is that supposed to mean? Did you write a best-seller and conveniently forget to tell me? Or have you hired yourself out as an escort for the time being?"

"Which would you find more believable?" Jess asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Jess!"

"Ok, ok. I talked to Matt and Chris, about taking a loan against Truncheon. They understand that we need a lot more space than we have right now, and were more than willing to co-sign with me, so now we can afford it, and since things are going so well for us, there really isn't too much hurry paying it back. That's what they said anyway, but I'm going to try and do it quickly,"

"You took out a loan against your company without talking to me first?"

"I knew you'd tell me not to. But it's going to be fine, we'll be able to pay it back easy, and plus, we'll have so much more room for the baby, and we can move all that stuff out of your mom's garage finally."

"You completely ignored what I said to you…"

"I know. And I'm sorry, but I-"

"Thank you." Rory interrupted. "Thank you for doing this for us. Can I see it again?" she requested and Jess handed over the check hesitantly. "Wow, look at that… And this is all we need? The house will be ours now?"

"That's it. Unless they've changed their minds and upped the price, but they seemed like pretty decent people, and I highly doubt that a couple who plan to follow their son across the country in their RV to Berkley are too concerned about monetary values, and material possessions."

"That's true. I can't believe we're buying a house."

* * *

"You were actually born before we got in here." Rory finished, nudging Charlotte, "But not too much before. We spent a couple of weeks in the apartment, and then everything was finalized and we moved in."

"Ok, I just need to interject for a moment, and tell you, Mom, how grateful I am that you didn't allow Dad to saddle me with a name like Earnesta, or Earnestine. Because, Dad, I love you, and I agree with you that the man is a genius, but if you had given me a name like that, I would have had to kill you. Or myself; possibly both."

"Well, you can thank… just about everyone for that. But I haven't given up. We may just have ourselves an Earnest yet."

"No. We will not. I'm sorry, but I'm putting my foot down. Again. No Earnest Mariano's. Not while I'm giving birth and raising him."

"Fine. I'll take the next one."

"Right," Rory laughed as the girls looked horrified. "I'd love to see you pull a Thomas Beatie, honey, but I don't think that's going to happen."

"Well, that's everything," Jess added, to Emma, brushing past Rory's comment. "Eight years later, we had you, then another eight after that, you asked how we met, and so here we are."

"That's it, that's our whole story." Rory concluded, holding a hand over her stomach as she smiled at her two girls.

* * *

So, once again, I've never bought a house, so I haven't got any idea about prices, but my sisters been looking into things and she said that sounded ok. My inspiration for swimming at the lake came from Chaarmed, and _Hallelujah_: Phoebe was complaining about the heat, while she was connected to the Succubus in "She's A Man, Baby, A Man", and "_You saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you_" One chapter to go, so review, tell me that you love me and my story!


	28. Epilogue

AN: Ok, so, last chapter. Thanks to all who reviewed, I really appreciate it. Thank you to Kassandra27 for all her help and compliments. Oh, and I have links to the dresses and Rory's flowers from the wedding in my profile. I can't remember if I mentioned that. Anyway, read and review.

* * *

Rory Gilmore sat curled up on the couch with her daughter's new puppy resting on her feet.

She looked at her husband, Jess Mariano in his favorite chair, which over the years had moved from across the room to right next to the couch she always sat on.

Her daughter, Charlotte Elizabeth Mariano - home from Boston for the weekend, to spend time with her family, sat in a recliner identical to her father's. It had originally been Rory's but ever since she was a little girl, Charlotte had idolized her dad and had wanted to be just like him. She'd gradually stolen the chair from her mother in order to do that and now, fresh out of college she was in the process of editing her second compilation of short stories as she sat in that very chair.

Banging around in the kitchen, making herself a snack and talking to a friend on her cell phone, was Emma Lorelai, Jess and Rory's fourteen year-old.

Rory sometimes worried that Emma would be a little more difficult to handle; especially if Audrey were any indication.

Six years before Rory had Em, her mother had discovered she was going to have a baby with her husband Luke. The couple had been slightly apprehensive at first; they weren't getting any younger after all, but she would have kids around her age to grow up with, and Lorelai had been saying for years how she wanted to give Luke a child, it had just taken a while for him to catch up. Rory's sixteen-year old half-sister was, in her own mother's words, nothing at all like her first angel child.

But Lorelai and Luke loved her regardless.

And as Lorelai was a huge Audrey Hepburn fan, she'd taken things one step further than Tristan DuGrey and his wife Joy, (who was Jess' best friend, and also a major Hepburn fan,) naming her child after the icon herself, instead of just using the names of her characters, Holly and Sabrina.

Rory didn't think Em would be quite as difficult as her aunt, but she certainly had her moments. She had a short fuse, much like her father had had, but she was also, most definitely a Gilmore. And having those two personalities battling it out within one body was always going to make for a dramatic life, if not for some good viewing.

Finn Rothschild, Rory's closest friend from her Chilton days, had miraculously also found himself a family. Just after the Mariano's had embarked on a story telling adventure, recounting their history for their daughters' enjoyment, Finn had returned from a visit with his friend, and Rory's ex, Logan Huntzberger, in London, with a new fiancé and three year old son in tow. He'd fallen madly in love during his vacation, and planned to spend the rest of his life with the woman, while helping her raise her child.

The grandfather clock across the room that Rory and Jess had received from Mrs. Kim as a wedding gift, over two decades ago announced the commencement of the twentieth hour of the day and Emma returned to the living room, carrying a bowl of popcorn and a fashion magazine.

Jess caught Rory's eye and gave her a reassuring look. She knew what he was saying; if he had worked out alright, then they had nothing to worry about. Their kids would be fine.

She smiled back at him as their hands found one another on the arm of the couch, and they both returned their attention to their books.

Just a few minutes passed before a door down the hall squeaked open and Rory looked up to see her six year old son Jack Lucas standing in the doorway.

When it came time to choose his name, Jess had of course tried to get in something Hemingway-like, but once again, Rory had said no, finally relenting to name the child after the author of "On the Road" as well as the man who was most like a father to the two of them.

"What are you doing up? It's late." Rory told him as he shuffled into the room and came to sit in her lap, causing her to shift and Dodger to yelp and crawl over to Emma at the other end of the lounge.

"Can you tell me a story?" he asked and Rory bit her lip.

She was pretty sure she knew the answer to this next question, but it had to be asked, regardless. "What kind of story?"

"Tell me about how you met daddy." he replied and she shook her head.

"Here we go again." Jess muttered, locking eyes with Lo as they both thought back on what had happened the last time that request was made. Emma just laughed.

"Are you sure you want to hear that story?" Rory asked. But by then Jack's eyes were closed and he was sucking on his thumb, fast asleep.

She'd gotten out of it this time, but Rory knew she would be telling that story again soon.

THE END

* * *

That's it! This was so much fun to write, thank you all for reading, let me know what you thought.


End file.
